Show me why
by MissMinecraft
Summary: Annabeth has a horrible life. Her dad is dead, and her mom isn't the person she used to be. Can somebody show her why she should keep trying, or will she just give up forever? Will she learn to trust people, or will she just stay in the shadows forever? Read to find out. No demigods/gods in this story.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I'm so happy with all my reviews from my last story and I want to thank you all for your feedback! I decided to start a brand new story so I hope you enjoy they first chapter!**

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Annabeth PoV

The cold whispering wind swept through the blank kitchen and throughout the house like shadows in darkness. Unnoticeable. My tangled mass of blonde hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. My gray eyes scanning over my mother's mass figure passed out on her bed. I sat by her watching over her. Her breath smelled of alcohol and I knew, no matter how many times she had told me it wasn't true, she was out drinking again. I get worried every day when she doesn't come home straight for work. It's like she doesn't care that I get stressed over her. What if she gets in an accident? She even told me herself when I was little to _never _drink and drive because you would get hurt. Of course, _I _follow her advice, but she never does.

My father had died only a few weeks ago from a heart attack. I think that's why she's like this. They both loved each other to death. I want to tell her that dad would never want her to feel this way, but I don't know how. We had moved away from the dreadful place. Technically California wasn't bad, but it was the haunting memories that made it unbearable to live in.

My mom is very different when she's drunk, it's like she's a whole different person that I'm ashamed to know. She turns from a wonderful caring mother to an abusing, unlovable, uncaring, unreliable person. Sometimes I feel like I can't even be in a different room then her or else she'll do something she'd regret. Sometimes I feel like calling a _babysitter _so I don't have to watch over her 24/7. _She's _supposed to be the person who watches over _me _not the other way around. I'm only 17, there's not much I can do. How will I know if she'll make responsible choices or not when I go to school? I never even had time to even _mourn _over my own dad. I don't have anyone to break down on. I don't have anyone to break down with me. I don't have anyone to hold me in their arms and tell me its okay. At least, not anymore. Now I have to start over a new life pretending to be what I'm not, staying on the outskirts and not drawing to attention to myself. _Again. _I have to keep my secrets to myself no matter how much I want to tell someone, and I have to not trust anybody because I know they can change just like that. I learned that from my mother's actions. I'll learn not to fall in love and be an abnormal teenager. I hate my life. I want to give up sometimes knowing that the key person in my life was _poof _gone. _He _was the one that kept us all together and _he _was the person that had to die. He was the one who could unlock everything; he was the one who understood. I want to join him, but I have to stay strong for my mother. I had to show her that she doesn't have to live like this, and it's never too late to change.

I stared at the peeling blank wall. My life was just like that wall. Coming apart, and so blank and alone. I held my mom's cold hand trying to warm it up with mine.

"Mom please change." I whispered quietly. I knew she couldn't actually hear me in her passed out state but it just felt good to get my begs out. Felt good to be able to speak to someone- passed out or not- for once. I assumed she was asleep and let go of her hand. I silently walked out the door and closed it gently.

It was cold, but probably only because all the windows were open. For some reason, the brisk winds and how it tugged at my hair made me calm. Sometimes I would stand outside in the middle of the night on my porch drawing designs of my dream house. I could stay out for hours and not feel one ounce of exhaustion.

I slumped and crashed onto my rock hard bed. I hugged the frigid pillow that sat closest to my window and looked out onto the streets. Cars were passing by not even glancing at the lonely girl in the window not knowing how to live her own life.

I sighed and crawled under my blankets, which didn't help much. I pulled it up to my chin and tried to imagine it was my mother- not me- who was tucking me in but no flesh memories came. Nothing.

My eyes strayed over to the picture of my dad on my nightstand. He was smiling at the camera like nothing was wrong. His sandy hair swept to the side and his blue eyes gleaming in the sun.

"Daddy." I whispered. The name burned my tongue like hot tea and left a bittersweet aftertaste. He was the reason my mom was in this drunken state, but I loved him with my heart and soul. It wasn't his fault he had a heart attack I understood that but sometimes when you're hurting, you want to blame the easiest possibility. I put my back to the picture. I couldn't stand looking at his sweet smile and not being able to see it in real life. I couldn't stand not being able to hug him, and tell him how my day went.

The night was rough. I tossed and turned but I couldn't stay comfortable. A new place, a new life. I worried about my school that I started tomorrow. Sure, I was a smart student and always did my work but it didn't mean my life was easygoing. One time during the night, I got so frustrated from trying so hard to get some relaxation I threw my pillow across the room at my door. The loud _thump _calmed me down.

When the sun crept though and shone against my walls I finally got up from my restless night. I walked to my bathroom and prepared for the worst. My eyes were bloodshot and they had bags under them. My hair was sticking up everywhere and tangled in a heap of hair blob. My skin was pale and I was weaker then usual even though I was pretty athletic. I attempted to brush my hair but gave up after already pulling out so many strands that it clogged up my sink. I left the mess there, and walked downstairs. My bare feet making little pat noises against the dull wooden floor. I opened the door to my mom's room quickly. She was still asleep so I left her alone. She can't do much harm when she's asleep. At least I hope not.

I didn't bother eating I had no appetite anyways. The only thing I felt right now was the mixture of concern and sadness churning in my heart.

I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. Beginning right in the middle of school was not easy. Especially if you're switching states. Especially if you don't know _anything _about these people.

I walked out of my house and locked the door behind me. I took a deep breath and tried to act brave. I pulled my gray hoodie closer to my body and slipped my black converse on. I made sure my phone was in the pocket of my jeans for emergencies. I put my hood up to hide my worn out face and stepped out onto the sidewalk. I hoped the people at my new school would ignore me and just live their own life and not put their nose in mine. I already had enough drama packed in my situation I don't know if I could handle more.

This was going to be _so _horrible, I can already picture it in front of my eyes. I wanted to turn back. Go back to my middle school days where I could relax and live a normal life. Be just a regular kid. But no, I couldn't have that. I was a _good _person; I didn't follow how _I _got stuck with the awful life. I just want one, _one, _person to care for me. To understand what I'm going through.

To tell me it will turn out right.

To help me through times of need.

To bring me into the light.

To show me_ why_ life was worth living.

Who will stand up for me.

Who won't care about my outsides.

Who won't let me be embarrassed.

Is that too much to ask?

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**Yes, I know it's a little sad. It might take a little while for me to update the next chapter to don't feel like i'm neglecting you guys! Please leave a review for me to improve. Theres always room for improvement! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone for last chapter's reviews and favorites/follows. It encouraged me to keep going so THANK YOU again. Sorry if this chapter kind of sucks, I wanted to make sure I got it out fast for you guys. So don't hate me please!**

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Annabeth PoV

The "school" looked like a jail, not a school. There were no windows, just gray brick buildings with mahogany doors. There was no field, or basketball court. At first, I thought I was in the wrong place until I found the tiny sign that said: Welcome to Manhattan High. What an original name.

I walked through the creaking doors and was immediately met by a hallway with lockers lined up against the walls. The metal looked rusted and old.

At my old school, we had fire red lockers that shone even if no light was on them. There were plenty of windows, and a big grass field for playing sports and just relaxing. Plenty of trees, and the buildings had bright blue ceilings and pale yellow walls. I pushed away that thought, and continued down to the office for my schedule and locker number.

The office looked more like a dentist waiting room. Not comfortable chairs sat lined up against the wall and there was a desk while there were hallways going off to different rooms.

"May I help you?" The woman at the desk asked. She looked about in her mid 30's.

"Um yeah I'm here for my schedule and locker number." I told her. She smiled. A fake smile like she was forced to and she never really liked children or teenagers.

"Why of course, your Annabeth!" she kept the smile going and her eyes scanned over me. I bent my head lower. She searched through a file cabinet until she gave me two slips of paper. I didn't even bother thanking her I just walked out. My schedule looked like this:

**Annabeth Chase, Junior year**

**Per 1: English with Mr. Blofis**

**Per 2: Chemistry with Mr. Roberts**

**Per 3: P.E. with Mrs. Swyers**

**Per 4: Graphic designs with Mrs. Johnson**

**Lunch**

**Per 5: Greek with Mr. Chiron**

**Per 6: Geometry with Ms. Dodds**

I sighed. It wasn't _that _bad I guess. I crumpled it up and shoved it inside my pocket. I looked at the second slip, which showed my locker number, and combo.

When I got to my locker I quickly put my combo in and unlocked it easily. I inspected the insides. There was stale gum stuck in the corners, corroded metal, and even _grass _was there. I quickly brushed it out and put my Greek and geometry book inside. I shut the door and put my backpack down by my feet. I searched through it until I found my notebook where I kept all my designs. I slid to the ground and started finishing up what the empire state building looked like in _my _eyes.

The hallways got packed with students fast. I paid no attention to the weird looks I was getting. I was used to it by now. I _did _look up when the hallway got silent. They were all parting like the Red Sea. In the doorway were three teenagers. The only girl had spiky black hair and electrifying eyes. I could tell she was someone not to mess with. She had a death to Barbie shirt on and a charm bracelet on her wrist. The boy next to her had had shaggy black hair and dark eyes. He wore black jeans, a black leather jacket and his skin was even paler then mine. The last boy had very tangled black hair and smoldering green sea eyes. He wore regular blue jeans and wore a gray sweatshirt. He had me mesmerized and I didn't even know him. They stood close to each other like they've been friends for years, which they probably have. He caught my gaze and I immediately looked away and acted like I never stared at him. I just put my stuff away and slung my backpack right back over my shoulder. It was hopeless, I would never get any friends. I started walking, at then a random guy bumped into me so I fell to the floor and my books fell scattered all over it.

"Watch it punk!" he screamed at me. I ignored him and tried to gather my stuff.

"Hey, I have an idea Roy, why don't you shut up." A girl snapped. _Somebody was actually standing up for me? _I glanced up and it was the same girl who was in the doorway a couple seconds ago. Her eyes were filled with rage. Roy rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. "Sorry about that." She said to me. I stood up so I was facing her.

"It's no problem, I learn to ignore it." I explained. I could tell she was studying me carefully.

"Thalia come on… we need to go before the clowns get here." The boy with pale skin whined from behind her. Thalia rolled her eyes. I looked at him in confusion. What clowns?

"Shut up Nico, I'm trying to make conversation." She protested.

"That's rare." He muttered. She turned on her heel toward him.

"What did you say to me?" she asked.

"Whoa guys, calm down." The guy with spellbinding eyes said and separated them. I cleared my throat and all of their eyes suddenly turned to me.

"I'm just going to go now." I said and slowly walked away. I could still hear them talking as I left.

"Thalia you just scared her away!" Nico accused.

"_Me? _You're the one with your goth clothing and-"

"I am _not _goth!" He objected. "Right Percy?" he asked. _Percy. _That's what his name was. The way it sounded was like velvet. Smooth. It felt so right.

"No, I'm not going to back you up this time Nico. Remember the _last _time I tried going against Thalia?" Percy reminded him. I bit back laughter and started to make my way to my English class. I couldn't get his eyes out of my mind. It haunted me, but in a good way. I knew he would never even go for a girl like me. He probably already had a girlfriend. Then the bell suddenly rang, startling me from my thoughts.

In my English class, the desks were put in pairs. The walls were much different then the outside. They were light green and posters of projects lined up and hung on the walls. It was actually looked better then I expected.

Mr. Blofis, my teacher, had peppery hair and seemed like an easy-going guy. I went up to his oak desk and he looked at me expectantly while my classmates pushed past me to get to their assigned seats.

"I'm Annabeth, the new student." I clarified.

"Ah yes they told me about you," he told me. Was that good or bad? "You'll be sitting next to Percy over there. I instantly turned around. Sure enough, he was sitting where Mr. Blofis was pointing there looking bored out of his mind.

"Uh ok thanks." I said but not really paying attention. I walked over to him and sat down. I could feel his eyes on me while I took my books out. Just being near him made my heart beat faster.

"Hey, what's your name?" he asked.

"Annabeth." I said and didn't look at him. I felt that if I even looked into unforgettable eyes one more time I would combust.

The second bell rang, signaling the start of class.

"Okay everybody, read chapter 7 in your textbook and answer the questions on the next page. If you don't finish, work on it for homework." Mr. Blofis yelled out without even looking up.

I got to work right away. I did not want extra homework when I'm always busy at home taking care of my mom. I hope she's ok, and that she didn't go out drinking again. I pursed my lips in concern and forced myself to forget about that just for today. I stole a glance over at Percy and he was trying to focus. I could tell he was having trouble and that he kept getting off track.

The classes zipped by and before I knew it, it was lunch period. Instead of heading toward the cafeteria where everyone else was going, I went toward my locker and started taking my other books out. Somebody tapped me on the shoulder and I looked behind me. Thalia was there.

"Hey, you wanna sit with us?" she asked. I debated it in my head even though it was a simple question. I decided there was no harm with just sitting with some people.

"Sure." I shrugged and followed her as she led me to where Percy and Nico were sitting. I slid next to her as she sat down.

"So Annabeth, why'd you move here?" Percy asked. I winced slightly but luckily, they didn't notice.

"California wasn't the best place for me." I answered and pressed my lips together. Technically I didn't _lie, _I just didn't tell the whole entire truth.

"Oh god, they're here." Nico groaned. I looked to where he was staring. A group of girls who wore _way _too much make-up was standing at the door to the cafeteria. They all wore really short shorts and tank tops even though it was January. The clowns.

"Don't worry, there only out for Percy, nobody would want you." Thalia rolled her eyes. "And I don't see why you don't just get a girlfriend so they would stop pestering you." She said to Percy. So I guess he wasn't taken. I'll admit I had to try very hard not to bring out a smile. I still couldn't trust him either way. I don't care if people say he's loyal, nevertheless, I will keep my secrets to myself. I know it's stubborn, but I have to. I don't want to get hurt even more. I would break and shatter because of my stupid soft heart.

"Why look who's here." A girl with a shrill voice said. She had brown hair and blue eyes. I recognized her from earlier. She was one of the clowns. Her intense stare was hovering over me. "Why are you sitting with her?" She asked Percy then looked over in disgust at me. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and just paid no attention to her.

"Because she's nice, and caring unlike you." Thalia snapped immediately.

"I don't remember asking you about your opinion." The girl narrowed her eyes like she couldn't even believe that somebody was going against her.

"And I don't remember asking you to come over here, _Violet._" Percy scowled. Violet just gave a fake smile and batted her eyelashes.

"Who wouldn't want to sit with me?" she rolled her eyes. She was so full of herself it made me sick. I _hated _girls like her. They were drama queens and gossipers.

"I wouldn't even if my life depended on it." Nico smirked.

"Your not worthy of me anyway." She held her head up high like it was helping her prove a point. "Especially you. Your just a waste of human space." She sneered at me. That sure got to me. Mostly because I've been living on the edge lately. Mostly because sometimes I did want to just give up. Mostly because I really was just a waste of human space. I did no good in the world. Hell, I can't even tell my mom that I'm concerned for her.

"Just leave, nobody wants you here." I said angrily. Usually I was good at ignoring insults. Usually I would go by my business without bothering anyone else, but there was something about her that made me want to punch her in the face. Maybe it was because she knew exactly how to get to me. She raised her eyebrows.

"Whatever. Bye Percy!" she smiled sweetly and then sauntered off. I glared after her, and then turned back to them. They were staring at me in awe. At first I thought I did something wrong.

"Nobody can _ever _get her to leave." Nico gaped at me.

"Yeah not even Thalia." Percy nodded. I'm pretty sure my cheeks turned a little pink.

"Shut up." Thalia growled.

"I'm just saying that Annabeth is more demanding then you." Percy rolled his eyes.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I know right? You can never tell." Nico smirked. For the first time since my dad died, I laughed. It felt good to get it out. I had forgotten how easily I could smile, and I realized how much I missed the feeling, but the moment was broken with the screeching noise of the bell, which sounded very similar to Violet's voice. My smile died, and I got up to head back to my next class.

After school ended, I hurried to my locker and grabbed my stuff. I needed to make sure my mom was all right and didn't do anything monstrous. I made it all the way to the sidewalk, but then somebody called my name. Percy was running to catch up to me. I waited for him patiently.

"Hey." I greeted but I kept thinking about my mom and tried to walk a little faster.

"I didn't know you walked home." He said.

"Why, do you live over here?" I pointed down the long sidewalk. He nodded.

"And I'm sorry about earlier at lunch." He apologized.

"I'm used to those types of girls by now." I shrugged.

"I meant when I asked you why you moved. I just tend to blurt things out and didn't realize you would be uncomfortable." He explained.

"I wasn't uncomfortable." I tried to deny but he just rolled his eyes. His beautiful, charming eyes.

"I notice everything Annabeth." He pointed out.

"And how do you know if your right or not?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Trust me, I know." He nodded. I smiled. It felt so right being near him. It was like he was a big part of my life I've been waiting for my whole life. I still didn't trust him though. I wish I could, I really do.

"Well Percy I really got to run, I have some things to do." I explained.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled but seemed a little disappointed, but the smile warmed me straight to my toes. I felt bad just leaving him, but I knew I had to.

I rapidly walked toward my house and held my breath when I reached the door. I opened it gently. What I saw nearly sucked the air out of me.

Beer bottles shattered.

Everywhere.

And my mom drunk, laying on the couch ripping pictures of my dad into little tiny pieces.

The only thing I had of him left.

Gone.

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**Thanks for reading this chapter! I'll try and get the next chapter out ASAP but I have school and homework so it may take a little while. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Yup i'm back with _another _chapter for you guys. Once again, _thank you _for all your reviews for the last chapter, they can really sometimes make the difference between a bad day and a good day. :) This chapter may not have a ton of action in it, but I promise later on there will be. (hint hint)**

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Annabeth PoV

"What are you doing?" I nearly screamed. I slammed the door shut and threw my backpack onto the floor. She didn't even look up, she just continued shattering my heart into pieces. I rushed to her and held her arms back. "Stop!" I yelled at her. She easily pulled out of my grip and pushed me back. I stumbled and fell down onto the hard wooden floor. I got back up and tried to take some pictures that haven't been ripped yet, but then she slapped me on the face. _Hard. _I instantly dropped the pictures and my hand crept to where she just struck. It burned like fire. A taunting fire that I couldn't fight back. I forced the tears away. It wasn't the time to start crying. By now, my mom was already done. She looked down at me.

"He left us here, I don't want to see his face if he isn't coming back." She slurred.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!" I yelled. I tried to say more, but she took my arm behind my back and held it against it. I cried out in alarm. She was _strong. _

"You better quiet down if you know what's good for you." She hissed in my ear. I had to remind myself that this wasn't her. She was a good person inside. I bit my cheek to stop me from screaming in pain. Satisfied with my silence, she let go of me. I ran to my room. Yes, I was ashamed in her but with myself too. I still didn't tell her how much I worry about her, and care. I didn't tell her that I wanted her to change. I didn't tell her how much I missed dad. I couldn't tell her things kids would usually tell their mothers.

My room looked like a tornado hit it. All my stuff was scattered on the floor. Nothing was missing except my picture of my dad on my nightstand. I leaned on the window that wasn't facing the street, but facing another house. I sank to my knees on the windowsill and buried my head in my arms. I was a failure. I didn't cry, there's a point in your life when you feel like you have nothing inside left to cry about.

"Annabeth?" Someone asked. My head snapped up. Across from where I was sitting was a different window from a different house. In that window was Percy. He was staring at me in concern. He lived right next to me.

"Oh hey Percy…" I tried for a smile but it faltered immediately. I couldn't bring myself to be happy. Not after all of that.

"Is there something wrong?" His green eyes scanned over me.

"No, nothings wrong." I lied. I knew he knew I was lying though. I could see it in the way he looked at me.

"Annabeth, you're a really bad liar." He told me. "But seriously, what's wrong?" he said obviously worried.

"I'm fine Percy. There's nothing to worry about, I can take care of myself." I rolled my eyes. He pursed his lips, clearly still not believing me.

"Ok, well I'll see you tomorrow." He gave me a lopsided grin as if he was trying not to burst my bubble. That made me want to tell him everything. The way he actually was worried for me, and cared about my feelings. I decided against it, and just waved instead. Who knows? He really could be acting everything out. I got out of his line of sight and leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.

Just once in a while I want something _good _to happen. Maybe, in order for something good to happen I have to try for it. Maybe, I can't just wait for it to come to me, and I have to find it myself. I pursed my lips and made my way back to where I last saw my mother. She was gone. I searched through the whole entire house and I couldn't find her. I became worried. This was my_ entire_ fault. I'm the one who left her alone. _Why, why, why _did I leave her alone? Even though it was only a couple of minutes, she can do a lot in that time. There wasn't an anything I could do until she came home. I couldn't call the police; they might arrest her for child abuse and drink driving. She was the only person I had left, and even though she didn't seem like much, she still meant a lot to me. She was the reason I was probably still fighting. To help her change and be a better person.

She came back home around 9:00 at night. I had finished eating and my homework was completed. I was sitting on the couch putting the finishing touches to my best design yet. She stumbled through the doorway. If it was even possible, she was drunker then before and _that _was hard to beat. I ran over to her to try and help her but she pushed me away.

"I don't know you." She garbled.

"Yes you do, mom let me help-" I started walking over to her again but she pulled back when I touched her.

"I don't want you here." She slurred.

"You don't know what your talking about mom." I tried to explain but then she struck me on the face. I didn't wince. I had to dig deep if I was going to change her.

"Don't tell me what I know and what I don't." she growled and then she walked to her bedroom leaving me standing there. I gritted my teeth and followed her putting all the courage I had inside of me.

"Listen to me mom, just for once LISTEN." I demanded but she was unconscious on her bed. I sighed annoyed. So close but yet so far away. I put a cool moist cloth on her head and put the covers up to her chin. It's a cycle. She gets drunk, I try and tell her that I care, she doesn't listen, she passes out, I take care of her, she's asleep whenever she's sober, I go to school, I come back, she's drunk again. It keeps repeating over and over again and I'm sick of it. Something needs to change fast.

At around 12:00, I left her in her passed out state and went back to my room. It was still cluttered, and I put everything back into their proper place. I just couldn't be disorganized; it drove me crazy not knowing where everything was.

I fell asleep around 1:30, but it wasn't peaceful sleep. It was filled with dark dirty pasts. When my father died.

_It was after school, and it was a beautiful day. My dad promised me that we would go to his work finally. I always wanted to see the buildings he designed in his own office. He said one day he would show me, and today was that day. _

_When I entered my house, the familiar smell of lilac filled the air. My mom always kept a bowl of them on our table since we grew them in our backyard. Right now, she was at work going about her business oblivious to the fact that something very bad was about to happen to her husband._

_My father was sitting in his black leather armchair watching his T.V. comedies like usual when I went up to him. _

"_Hi dad!" I greeted and sat on the arm of his chair. His pepper hair was fairly brushed and I knew he brushed it just for me. The only other time he brushes his hair was in weddings, or when he was out for dinner with mom. _

"_Hello princess." He smiled. _

"_Dadddd I told you not to call me that." I whined. "I'm a big girl now." I scowled. He continued smiling and stroked my hair. _

"_That's right, I forgot. You grow up so fast." His eyes gleamed with pride. _

"_Speaking of growing up, you promised you would take me to your work today." I reminded him. His head lolled back and his hand fell from my hair. At first I thought he was joking around. "Dad, I know you're really not dead." I rolled my eyes but he didn't answer. I narrowed my eyes and put my head against his chest. His heart was beating slower then usual. Very slow. I got worried. I rushed to the phone and called the police immediately. I told them to get an ambulance down here instantly._

_It seemed like hours before they came. They found me cradling my dad's head in my arms whispering it was going to be okay, even though it wasn't. I didn't even know if he could hear me. _

_When we got to the hospital, they wouldn't let me see him. They took him away from me. They had no right doing that, I deserved to know if he was fine or not. I was able to call mom and she came as fast as she could._

_That night my mom and me sat there in the blue chairs waiting patiently even though we were both very tired. At 3:00 in the morning, the doctor came out and shook his head. My mom started crying, but I got angry. I got angry with the doctors who couldn't save him. _

"_IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE THE WORST DOCTOR EVER YOU CAN'T EVEN SAVE SOMEONES LIFE!" I yelled. _

"_There was nothing we could have done." The doctor said simply. It was a lame excuse, a lame answer. It was the worst day of my life. It was pressed into my brain and stuck there like a tattoo forever. _

I jolted away immediately. My breathing was fast and my neck and face was beaded with sweat. It _had _to come back and hang in my mind, right when I was on the very tip of falling. I started sobbing into my pillow. Nothing could save me from my past I knew that. It would keep catching up with me, lingering in my mind until hell freezes over.

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**Thank you for reading! Don't forget to review, theres _always _room for improvement even for the best writers. (I'm not saying i'm a good writer, just trying to prove a point)**

**May take awhile for updating again and I know I always say this it will take awhile, but my star testing is coming in 2 weeks and my teachers are trying to bombard us with tests before the star tests. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone, thank you for your reviews and everything! I'm sorry this chapter took longer then usual but I had _sooooo _much homework. I hope you like this chapter even though it kind of sucks. (Just my opinion, I don't think highly of myself)**

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Annabeth PoV

The morning was colder and brisker then usual, like the air was taunting me of my past, making the memory keep coming back following me everywhere.

I didn't even bother going into the bathroom to know what I look like. I already guessed what I was like. A disaster. My hair could probably used as a bird's nest; I had dark circles and bags under my eyes that were already sagging and bloodshot from barely any sleep, and I had to blink my eyes a lot of times to keep myself conscious.

As usual, my mom was still fast asleep in her room. I picked up my backpack and threw it hastily over my shoulder almost falling over from the weight. I regained my balance and pushed my front door open and then closed it behind me. I hadn't bothered to change clothes; I already looked terrible what's the point?

Of course, me being half asleep I totally knocked into a guy while I was walking on the sidewalk. He caught me before I could fell. His hands were strong, like they were meant for protecting. Not just physically though.

He steadied me, and when I looked up it was none other then Percy. I blushed immediately and suddenly felt wide-awake like electrical sparks just lit me up.

"Thanks." I muttered.

"You okay? You looked a little…" he trailed off.

"Unstable? Tired? Exhausted?" I asked and continued down the road. He walked next to me.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"I'm fine. Just didn't get much sleep." I shrugged like it was nothing, which I kind of was. I was used to it by now, though it didn't mean my body was.

"That sucks. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have sleep." Percy admitted. _I used to be like too._

_I used to._

"So where is Thalia and Nico?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"How am I supposed to know? I don't stalk them." He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah but you have a phone!" I protested.

"Your right, I should be texting them 24/7." He said sarcastically. I stuck my tongue at him. So mature. Suddenly, I felt somebody tackle me from behind. I nearly fell down, but this "mysterious" person let go before I could. I turned around and Thalia was there pouting wearing the usual death to Barbie shirt.

"Nobody ever waits for me." She crossed her arms.

"There's a reason for that." Percy told her. I cracked a smile. I just felt so normal around them. They were like the family I don't have anymore. The family that I don't trust.

"Thanks, I feel the love." She scowled as we kept walking.

"Where's Nico?" Percy asked.

"At his house stuck in his room because his dad is in the living room and he'll kill him if he finds out that Nico slept in again." Thalia shrugged. I raised my eyebrows.

"And you know this how?" I tried not to smile. She pushed me lightly.

"Shut up he texted me." She mumbled.

"You barely ever text." Percy pointed out.

"SHUT UP!" She growled. He raised his hands up in defense.

"We're kidding." I rolled my eyes. "Right Percy?" I gave him a look like: _You better agree with me or I swear… _

"Uh-huh." he agreed cautiously. I was about to say more, but then I saw familiar old doors in front of me. I suppressed a groan.

"Ready for the stares Percy?" Thalia smirked. He glared at her. She pushed the doors open and revealed a lot of kids packed in the hallway. Of course, they parted when they saw Percy but then glared at me like I did something wrong. I pulled my hood up to hide my tired-out face.

I managed to get to my locker alive and started to get the things I needed.

"Well look who decided to come back." A girl with a piercing voice screeched. _Violet. _Wouldn't she just leave me alone? I didn't turn around; I didn't want her to make fun of my face too. I already knew what it looked like.

"What do you want Violet?" I sighed and continued.

"Did you know there's a dance coming up?" She asked.

"No, and I don't really care." I said honestly.

"Yeah, I didn't expect you to. It's not like you could get a date anyway." I could tell she was rolling her eyes even without looking behind me. _Pfft, like that really bothered me. I already knew the person I wanted was out of my league. _

"And that's supposed irritate me how?" I asked.

"Your right, you're probably used to not getting dates." She laughed.

"Yeah, and you probably are too." I nodded as I turned around just to see her expression and she stumbled back when she saw me.

"What's wrong with you?" she shrieked.

"Why, am I holding a mirror?" I wondered. It took her a few seconds to get it and when she did she glared at me.

"I'm much better then you, everybody knows that. Mentally, and physically." She snapped.

People were watching us fight now, crowding around us like a wrestling match. I could see Percy and Thalia in the back looking at me worriedly. I could handle this.

"Hmm, if your much better then me, then how come you have no boyfriend? And plus, I'd like to see you try and beat me mentally." I smirked and crossed my arms. I couldn't let her get the satisfaction of me ignoring her; I had to take her down with me.

"I don't have a boyfriend because I don't want one right now. And I could beat you mentally whenever I want to." She snapped. _Yeah right. _

"Prove it." I smirked.

"What if I don't want to, bitch?" she took a step forward, but I didn't back up. I even took a step forward too.

"Then don't. I really couldn't care less." I shrugged. "I don't need you to tell me what I am and what I'm not." _I have myself for that. _I rolled my eyes and pushed my way through the crowd trying to get to Percy and Thalia but Roy blocked my path.

"Where do you think your going?" he asked.

"Why, is it illegal to walk to my friends?" I raised my eyebrows.

"What friends? Not like you could get any." He rolled his eyes. I pursed my lips.

"I'm not you Roy, I actual have a life." I snapped at him. _A suckish life. _I added in my head. Before I could think, he grabbed me and slammed me into the nearest locker. A spike of pain filled my head for a second when it made contact, but then went away. Thalia tried to rush in and help, but I looked at her like: _Don't. _She backed up and looked at me concerned. I knew my strength; I got it from my mother. I pulled myself away and twisted his arm behind his back just like my mother did to me. I pressed him face first against the locker but then let go. I wasn't _that _mean.

"When you get into a fight Roy, know what you're dealing with before you start." I spat and walked to Thalia and Percy who were looking at me in shock. "What?" I asked.

"Wha- how the hell did you do that?" Percy stared at me in astonishment. I blushed a little.

"I know some tricks." I smiled.

"Even I'm impressed." Thalia raised her eyebrows.

Yes, that fast. I came from the shy, new girl to the girl not to mess with.

"She's going to be stronger then you one day." Percy pointed out.

"Yeah you would just love that wouldn't you." Thalia smirked when he saw Percy's cheeks turn pink and I'm pretty sure- if it was possible- mine turned a deeper shade of red. He was about to retort but then the bell rang. Thalia took this as a victory and was snickering the whole entire time when she walked off. Percy and me just made our way to our first period class.

When we sat down the bell rang, and a couple minutes after Nico burst in panting heavy. I raised my eyebrows. He looked like he just ran a marathon. He walked over to Percy and I could hear what he whispered.

"My dad almost blew up the roof when he saw me try to sneak out." He muttered and Percy gave him a look with concern but Nico just waved it off. He glanced at Mr. Blofis and he was raising his eyebrows but he didn't say anything. "I'll talk to you later, this is like the fiftieth time I'm late." He rolled his eyes.

"Dude calm down, he's not going to kill you when you're my friend." Percy mumbled back but Nico left to go to his desk anyway. _What did he mean by that? _

"Nico tsk tsk late again." I could hear somebody say from inside the classroom. I could see Nico roll his eyes from the other side of the room.

"Ok class, today we will be reading the Odyssey in class. Finish reading it by next Monday please." Mr. Blofis called out. I sighed. I already read it before, but it couldn't hurt to read it again.

When last period came around- Geometry with Ms. Dodds- I was worn down but I stayed alert. You did _not _want to be caught dozing off especially with Ms. Dodds, I learned that yesterday. She was an old woman who wore a leather jacket anyway like she was 20 and she had wrinkled skin but a stern voice. She would give you detention in a blink of an eye so you had to watch out. She never smiled- and I didn't want to see her try.

"Alright children, do pages 256 through 259. Your homework is on the board, get to work!" she snapped. There was a shuffling of books and soon the classroom was silent except for the sound of pencils scratching onto paper. That is before Thalia rushed in with her backpack barely staying on her shoulder.

"Sorry Ms. Dodds our last teacher let us out la-" she tried to say.

"Detention after school Ms. Grace." She interrupted her. Thalia pursed her lips to stop from retorting and nodded instead.

Thankfully, the bell rang a few minutes after and I instantly walked over to Thalia.

"What's the real reason?" I smirked. She rolled her eyes. She couldn't hide anything from me.

"Somebody asked me to the dance." She muttered. I raised my eyebrows.

"And?" I asked.

"I'll tell you later, just go. You do not want detention because she might give you one just 'cause you're 'talking to me.'" She whispered. I nodded and left the room. I made my way down the hallway and out of the school.

My mom wasn't home, and I figured she was out getting drunk. I set my backpack down and walked back out. There wasn't anything I could do right now.

I found myself on the beach with the soft sand under my feet and the salty breeze whisking across my face. I was surprised to find Percy there sitting near the water letting it wash over him. I made my to him. The sand turned wetter like quicksand.

"Hey what are you doing here?" I asked. I expected him to turn around with his usual green eyes glistening with humor, and smiling up at me but instead when he did look up, his green eyes were filled with sadness. Something I had never seen from Percy. He wasn't smiling, like he was lost in the world and trying to figure out how to come back. I had felt that before. And I'm feeling it now.

"This place is sacred to me." He explained. I sat down next to him and didn't care if the seawater soaked my clothes.

"How?" I asked. To me, it just seemed like a regular beach. He looked away.

"This is where my family always went to, but then my dad went lost at sea and this is the only memory I have of him left." He told me and looked off into the miles of ocean water. He was like me. His dad was gone, only mine was dead and couldn't come back.

"Percy I'm so sorry." I whispered. He didn't answer.

It was about an hour before one of us spoke. I guess we needed the silence.

"What about your family?" he asked. I bit my lip.

"Its complex." I told him. That's all I said. I think he knew that I didn't really want to talk, because he dropped the subject.

I guess out here on the beach is when I started to change.

I started to trust Percy.

Somebody who's been hurt wouldn't hurt someone else right?

But I just didn't trust him fully yet.

Not yet.

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**Thanks for reading! I'll try and update as soon as I can, leave a review please theres always room for improvement! ALWAYS!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all your reviews for the last chapter! I was just happy that somebody was reading my story! I also encourage you guys to read my _other _story and tell me what you think. You don't have to, don't worry I won't get mad if you don't. I understand! Sorry it took longer then usual to update but I just felt _sooooo _tired. Also, my friends are messing up my life so it sucks. The best part is just writing and reading your reviews! THANK YOU ALL AGAIN! (I'm sorry I made you suffer through reading this!)**

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Annabeth PoV

I must have spent hours on the beach sitting in comfortable silence with Percy. It felt right. A moment I kind of always wanted to have.

I was sad when I had to leave, but I had to. I couldn't leave my mom alone too long, and I still had mounds of homework. Especially form Ms. Dodds. I don't think she really cares about how much we have to suffer. Scratch that. I _know _she doesn't care about how much we have to suffer.

"I have to go Percy." I sighed and got up. He nodded understandingly and stood up with me.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." He said. I smiled.

"Right, bye." I waved and walked off. I could feel him watching me, his stare boring into my back but I didn't look behind me.

When I returned home, my mom was still out. I worked on my homework. Honestly it wasn't a problem for me.

I finished my homework quickly and made my way upstairs. I changed my clothes to dark navy blue jeans and a black t-shirt. I actually managed to get some tangles out of my hair. Key word: _some. _

I was exhausted and worn out, but I stood up into the night waiting for my front door to open and my drunken mother to walk in. She finally came around 1 in the morning, stumbling over herself.

"Mom please… listen to me." I instantly begged. She had a far away look in her eyes and I knew she didn't hear me. I shook her arm but she didn't come out of the phase. She didn't do anything, just stood there like a statue. I led her into her room. What's the point of talking if she can't really hear me?

I laid her down on the bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin. I was tucking her in. It shouldn't be like that. I turned off the light leaving the eerie moonlight peek through the window. She stared up at the ceiling and took no notice in me.

I went back into my room and lay down on my bed snuggling closer to my dirty pillow. I feared of falling asleep. What if more nightmares came? What if more haunting memories flooded back? I closed my eyes anyway. I needed to learn to deal with it. I couldn't let some measly memory get the best of me, I was stronger then that.

Thankfully, no dreams came that night but that doesn't mean I still didn't remember everything from my past.

In the morning, I was still tired but I managed to get out of bed. I didn't even bother checking on my mother- I knew she was asleep. Otherwise the car would have been gone. And she always does this anyway.

When I was ready, I left my house and locked the door. It was warmer outside then usual.

"Annaaabethhhh!" I heard someone call. I turned around to find Thalia running toward me.

"Hi Thalia." I greeted when she was next to me. We started walking toward school on the sidewalk paying no attention to the cars zipping by us.

"Hey we didn't get to talk yesterday." She said.

"Oh yeah, so who asked you to the dance?" I tilted my head slightly. She gave me a sheepish smile. "WAIT! Let me guess…um Percy?" I asked. She laughed.

"Yeah right." She rolled her eyes.

"Roy?" I wondered though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

"Annie you _know _he didn't ask me!" she scowled.

"Do _not _call me ANNIE!" I glared.

"Okay, okay just keep guessing." She waved it off. I thought about it then a smile grew on my face.

"Is it Nico?" I guessed. Her cheeks turned a little pink. Thalia was _blushing! _

"Maybe…" she tried to hide her smile.

"You like him!" I teased. Hey, that's what friends do right?

"Fine I like him! But what about you, who do you like?" she nudged me slightly.

"Nobody." I tried to keep a straight face.

"Everybody likes at least someone." She rolled her eyes.

"Since when have you become the love expert?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I'm not, I'm just stating a fact!" she protested.

"Wow that's new." I grinned.

"Your just like Perc-" her eyes widened. Great, she just _happened _to mention him when we were talking about who we "liked" or whatever which was so not me. "Holy hell Annabeth do you like him?" she asked. How was I supposed to answer that question? And how is holy…hell? They are like opposites…never mind… I'm going crazy.

"No?" But it came out more like a question then an answer. I was pretty sure my cheeks were red.

"You like him!" she teased.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Fine I do!"

"Do to- wait what?" she stopped.

"Nothing." I muttered.

"Did you just say you did?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Great, here we go again.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"FINE! I give up!" I sighed. She smiled in triumph.

"So… how long?" she asked with a sly smile.

"Why are you so interested in this?" I asked her. She just shrugged. "But you guys are pretty close right?"

"Well yeah like best friends. He helped me through some stuff. You can really trust the guy." She responded. _You can really trust the guy. _I bit my lip. Its like she _knew _I had trouble trusting people. But I _knew _she didn't _know _that I had trouble trusting people. If that made any sense. There was no way she could _know. _It was like impossible. Unless she stalks me, which I'm pretty sure she doesn't. At least, I _hope _not.

"Annabeth? Hellooooo?" she asked and waved her hand in front of my eyes.

"Huh? Oh, yeah?" I asked snapping back to reality.

"We're here." She responded. Sure enough, we were. I took a deep breath.

"Okay, time for hell to start." She said grimly and opened the doors. The halls were crowded as usual, but they didn't part when they saw us like they would to Percy but I expected that. We had to physically push past people to get to our lockers, but when I got there, I found an unpleasant surprise waiting.

A bunch of graffiti was written all on my locker. I'm not talking about just doodles and drawings, it was just mean words like: Freak, ass, nerd, and so on. And, I don't even think it would come out. I gritted my teeth. The people who did this must be a coward. I would rather them say it to my face then write it all over my locker.

Every time something good happens, something far worse totally destroys that happy feeling that a rarely get.

This is one of those times.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review, theres no such thing as perfect! Theres always room for improvement! Also, don't forget to read my other story please if you can! (Lol, I say please and thanks a lot don't you think?)**


	6. Chapter 6

**OH MY GOD! Thank you all for reviews for last chapter! I wanted to update ASAP so I'm sorry if this looks rushed. I will make them better in the future I PINKIE SWEAR DON'T WORRY! :)**

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Annabeth PoV

"Well, isn't that a shame?" I heard someone say with a piercing voice. I bit my lip. Violet. I could _not _deal with her right now, so I just pushed her back and made my way to the office. The same lady I met on my first day of school here was there with her phony smile.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" she continued smiling but she looked at me like: _What now? _

"Hi, there's some graffiti all over my locker and I can't get it out." I explained. She studied me.

"Ok, do you know who did it?" she asked. I shook my head even though I had my suspicions. I wouldn't blame somebody if I didn't know for sure. I wasn't that kind of person. "There's a locker that nobody is using, I'm sure you can move to that one. Here is the number and code." She handed a blue slip to me similar to the first one I got. Once again, I didn't thank her, I just walked out. Hey, she doesn't like me I have no reason to say thank you right?

I quickly took the stuff from my old locker and moved to my new one. I stuffed some of my books inside after I unlocked it. I sighed deeply.

"Hey, you moved lockers?" Percy asked. I spun around.

"Yeah…" I trailed off. He was leaning against the locker next to mine and his hands were shoved in his jean pockets. "Is that your locker?" I tilted my head to the side. He rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm just leaning on it for no reason and that's why all my books are in there." He said sarcastically.

"Ha ha." I rolled my eyes and slung my backpack over my shoulder. "Did you hear about Thal-"

"And Nico going to the dance?" he said amusingly. "Yeah, he told me."

"When?" I asked confused.

"Ever heard of electronics?" He smirked. I scowled at him and crossed my arms.

"No, I'm 17 and I've never heard of electronics. That's why I have a phone." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey my favorite friends!" Thalia called and walked over to us.

"Nico's not going to like how you said that." Percy muttered.

"That's different." I pointed out. Thalia punched me lightly on the arm. I slightly winced. Not because it hurt, but because it reminded me of my mother at home. I don't think they noticed though.

"Did you switch lockers?" she frowned at me. I nodded and I could tell she was trying not to smile. It was right next to _Percy's. _She didn't ask why though. Neither of them did. Maybe I shouldn't tell them. It was a small thing right? Nothing to make a big fuss about.

"Where is Nico? Stuck at his house again?" Percy raised his eyebrows.

"How would I know?" She demanded. We waited for like a minute looking at her expectantly. "Fine, yes he is." She sighed.

"Did you go over to his house?" Percy teased.

"Did you guys hold hands in the moonlight?" I grinned.

"Did you guys slow dance to music?" Percy snickered.

"No!" she blushed. Yes, again. Thalia was blushing _again. _

"We're just asking! But really, did you guys like make-out wh-" I started and then gave me a glare that said: _You know, I think Percy would really want to know who you like. _I shut up instantly and pressed my lips together. She smirked.

"That's what I thought." She grinned. Before I could respond, the bell rang. The slamming of lockers and scuffling of feet filled the hall. I walked with Percy to our classroom still teasing Thalia and Nico. They'll never hear the end of it from us.

At lunch, I walked to the cafeteria and found Thalia and Nico sitting _very _close to each other. Like, their thighs and arms were touching at all times. They quickly parted when they saw me. I was snickering the whole entire time as I made my way over to them.

I sat across from them and they both had tinges of pink on their cheeks.

"Guys, no PDA at school." I scolded them. They both muttered shut up at the same time which made them more embarrassed. Suddenly, Percy came running into the cafeteria. He looked out of breath. He came over to us.

"Annabeth, I found out who wrote on your locker." He said and set his backpack down. I immediately sat up.

"Who?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Violet. Who else?" he smirked. I instantly stood up and started searching the room for her.

"Wait Annabeth you can't just like go over there and kill her." He rolled her eyes.

"Why not? I do it all the time." Thalia shrugged.

"Yeah then it must be safe." Nico said sarcastically. I didn't pay attention to any of them, I continued searching. I finally found her with her group in the corner of the cafeteria. I walked angrily toward her as Percy, Nico, and Thalia watching me catiously.

"Violet." I tried to keep calm.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped. I grit my teeth.

"You know what you did." I stated.

"Oh? I don't remember doing anything." She smirked. I grabbed her by the front of her shirt and literally pulled her up and slammed her against the wall.

"You know what you did." I growled. "DON'T even try and deny it _Violet._"I spat. She looked pretty scared if you ask me. I didn't care if everybody was watching me. Hell, I didn't even care if anybody freaking talked about me. I was so used to it by now.

"A-annabeth I _swear- _I didn- I would nev-" She tried to lie but I just took her wrist and twisted it. She whimpered slightly.

"Say another lie, and I'll make sure you were never born." I threatened. She gulped. I let her go and she stumbled forward. Everybody was staring at me but then quickly looked away. I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe that would finally shut her up for once.

I sat back down, and my friends were still staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Did you jus- was that real?" Nico blinked.

"Was what real?" I asked.

"Nobody ever did that before, not even Thalia." Percy raised his eyebrows.

"Well your missing out." I smirked. She grinned.

"Trust me, I can relate." She laughed. I smiled. It felt good just to have friends to laugh with, and have a great time. I never realized how much I missed it.

Not until now.

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**Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you guys liked it. Please leave a review, theres no such thing as perfect! Theres always room for improvement. ALSO! If you haven't glanced at my other story I encourage you to, but I'm not forcing you. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO! - **


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh my god! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS! I wanted to update _so _bad and _yes! _I finally finished this chapter. FYI (REALLY IMPORTANT), tomorrow I can't update any stories because I have a test the next day and this huge assignment that I waited until the last minute to do (as usual)and I have a ton of homework but next week I will be able to post a lot of chapters because _most _of my teachers don't give me homework on star testing week so YES! Thank you all for supporting me! I love to write and it makes me happy when I know your reading this.**

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Annabeth PoV

The day ended quickly and I was glad. I was so worn out; I could hardly stand. I had already put all my books in my new locker and was on the sidewalk walking back to my house. That's when I got ambushed by "kidnappers" also known as Percy, Thalia, and Nico.

"Hey Annie! We're going to the ice cream parlor do you wanna come?" Thalia asked.

"Sure." I shrugged. My mom was most likely, scratch that, definitely not home. No point in just sitting around waiting for her to come, and I barely had any homework (for a change) so I could finally spend some time with actual fun! I KNOW its crazy!

When we got there, it wasn't crowded, which was a surprise because it was pretty hot out, so we were able to quickly get our ice cream and sat down outside.

"So Percy, who are you thinking on taking to the dance?" Thalia mentioned. I glared at her from behind my ice cream and she just smirked.

"I dunno, why?" Percy shrugged.

"Oh, no particular reason." She smiled evilly and I kicked her under the table. She made no signs of pain and just continued smiling. "What about you Annabeth? Who are _you _going to take?" she snickered while Nico kicked back and watched, obviously amused.

"Why? So you don't have to be all _alone _with Nico when you go to the dance?" It was my turn to smirk as she scowled at me.

"Why are you bringing me into this?" Nico whined. I rolled my eyes and propped up my legs on the table.

"You sure got a whiny boyfriend Thalia." I said.

"We are _not _together!" Thalia and Nico yelled at the same time. Percy and I tried not to laugh.

But we failed miserably.

We laughed harder when they both blushed.

And fell over when they started shouting at us to stop laughing.

"Aww that's so cute." Percy teased and I gripped my sides because they hurt so much from laughing so hard.

"I swear _Jackson, _you make another comment about Nico and me I swear to god-"

"Ha 'Nico and me' haha." I smirked she turned to me.

"What did you say?" she raised her eyebrows. Nico and Percy slowly started getting up out of their chairs and backing up like they sensed danger. Which, they probably, scratch that, _definitely _sensed danger.

"Why, did you not hear me?" I asked and continued eating my ice cream calmly. She was my friend, not like we meant really anything we said.

"Oh, I heard you perfectly fine. Perfectly fine. I'll bet you'll regret it too." She glared.

"What exactly can you do?" I said casually. She grinned mischievously. _No, she WOULDN'T _but then taking one more look at her I knew she would have. I immediately shut up and sighed. She smiled. _Where are Percy and Nico? _I suddenly thought. I looked around.

"Wait where's Percy and Nico?" I frowned. She looked around too.

"I guess we scared them off." She shrugged. I finished my ice cream and pursed my lips.

"You mean _you _not _we."_ I rolled my eyes.

"No, I meant _we _and in _us _not _me, me._" She said.

"No I think you mean _you _not is _we _as in _us, _but as in _you _not _me, me._" I stated. She looked at me confused.

"What?" she blinked.

"Lets just go look for them." I sighed and got up. She got up with me and followed me as we walked down the street searching for them.

"Where the hell could they have gone?" Thalia demanded.

"You know them better than I do!" I protested.

"Lets just check Percy's house." She said annoyed and led me there. She knocked on the mahogany doors and then crossed her arms. We waited patiently (believe it or not) and finally Nico and Percy opened the door.

"You guys done?" Nico asked.

"No, that's why we came here." I rolled my eyes.

"Why did you guys leave anyway? We weren't that scary!" Thalia protested.

"Um, you kind of were." Percy nodded. I sighed.

"Whatever. I'm tired, so I'm going to go now." I shrugged and waved as I went over to my house. I entered and the familiar smell of alcohol filled the air. Looks like she was home. I went to her room and found her at her desk sipping beer and holding designs for buildings. I came closer. They were amazing, and worth more then just sitting here at my mom's desk. _Way more. _But where could she have gotten them? I knew she wasn't interested in architecture like I was, unless she suddenly took interest but I _doubted _that.

"Mom, what is that?" I asked. She didn't look up.

"Designs. Beautiful designs." She whispered. I resisted the urge to say: _Yeah, I can see that! _I looked up in the corner of the paper. F.C. What could that stand for? I thought about it.

"Where did you get them?" I wondered and stood behind her. I didn't even care if she was drunk again; all I cared about were those designs. If I could take some ideas from them from that and mix it with _my _designs I could really make a true masterpiece.

"I found them." Was all she said. Well no _duh! They didn't magically appear out of thin air! _I pursed my lips. F.C, what does it mean? She didn't even look tired like she usual did which I found strange. She just continued studying them. I guess she would go to sleep when she felt tired. I walked out of the room and closed the doors behind me. I made my way to my room and sat on the edge of the bed. I was exhausted but I _needed _to figure out what F.C meant. It was like it was a _huge _part in my life and I can't even realize _why. _I knew my dad would be amazed by those designs too.

Wait.

F.C.

No way.

I gasped suddenly. It all fit. I understood.

It _was _a huge part in my life.

Oh my god.

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**Thank you all for reading _so _much. (Am I to dramatic? LOL) Please leave a review, theres no such thing as perfect! Theres always room for improvment. ALWAYS!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you all for your reviews for the last chapter! Thanks for your support! OMG today it was raining so hard so naturally- I ran out in the rain with my friends even though there was a laptop in my backpack. DON'T WORRY THE LAPTOPS SAFE IT'S OKAY! :) Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

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Annabeth PoV

I couldn't believe it. How could I not have realized it? F.C! Frederick Chase. My dad. Those were my dad's designs, his creations. The things I've been waiting a lifetime to see. The things I came so close to being able to see, but then it slipped through my fingers.

I ran down to my mother's room. I needed to look more closely; I needed to have them in my hands. But when I opened the door, she wasn't there. Neither were the designs.

I searched the whole house and finally found her in our backyard. The papers were on the grass in front of her and she was holding something in her hand. I didn't see what it was, but right now I didn't care. All I cared about right now were the designs.

"Mom give me those." I commanded and walked toward her. Those were the only things I had to remember him; I was not going to let her take them away from me. Not this time at least.

What she did next surprised me. She shook her head and pulled them closer to her. Since when did she care so much about my father's designs? She had always teased him about it too.

"Mom, give me them!" I demanded more forcefully and took a step toward her.

"No, their mine!" she hissed and pushed me away. I stumbled back in surprise and slipped on the wet grass. "They deserve to be ruined. He screwed up my life." Her eyes were filled with rage and she took out the thing she was holding in her hand. A lighter. A _lighter. _The fire came up blazing and dancing in front of my eyes. A taunting dance. I scrambled forward.

"No, no… NO!" I screamed but she already took the fire to the designs. The precious designs. The only thing I had left. Something I could have made a fortune out of. Something that could have made my life turn around and actually become good. Something that I could relate to my dad with. Gone. My mom just walked inside the house like it was all fine. But it wasn't! I got up and tried to stomp it out with my feet. The fire went out, but what was left was just black crinkled paper. I picked it up but it crumbled in my hands. Everything was gone to ashes. Tears welled up in my eyes. Usually I can stand a lot of things, but this was too much. Too much to hold in. I ran out of my backyard and out into the front. I hate my life. I hate my mom. I needed someone to hold me, to care for me. Somebody to trust, somebody that I know will trust me too.

_Percy. _I looked over at his house. The windows were filled with light. He trusted me. He told me about his life out when we were at beach. Thalia told me I could trust him.

I ran across my lawn and onto his. I walked all the way up to his front door and prayed he was home. I knocked gently and quietly. At first, I was met by silence until the door opened. Yes, there he was. His hair was wet like he just took a shower, and he was leaning casually against the doorframe. His eyes lit up when he saw me, but then got filled with worry. He must have noticed my watery eyes, drooping figure, and ruffled hair.

"Annabeth what's wrong?" he asked. _He cared, he noticed. _I completely broke down right there on his doorstep. I couldn't even get out any words. He just took me by the arm and led me inside then closed the door. He steered me to his bedroom and sat me down on his bed. I leaned against his shoulder and let it all out. He didn't say anything- like he understood that it was too hard just to speak. He wrapped one of his arms around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. It felt so right. It felt wonderful just to know that there was somebody in the world that cared for you. Especially since my life has been going downhill lately and I've had nothing to stop me from falling. Not until now. It was great to just have someone to hold you and comfort you. Someone that will always be there, someone that will know what I'm feeling.

My tears fell like little crystals that shattered when they hit the floor. I was filled with so much emotion. I still couldn't believe it. All the designs were gone. I felt like my dad died because of those designs, because he started to slowly fade away right when I mentioned them. I felt like those designs were a huge part in my life, but there gone. A huge part of my life burnt away, trailing off into the wind and leaving me. It was like they wanted to get away; to escape.

My throat was so dry I couldn't even cry anymore. I just sat there giving small hiccups every now and then. I sniffled and sighed every once in awhile and finally I turned and hugged him. He hugged back. He was warm, and smelled like the ocean.

"Thank you." I whispered into his shoulder. He pulled away and looked straight into my eyes.

"Annabeth I'm always here for you, you know that right?" he stared at me intently. I looked away quickly. I didn't want him to see me hurting too much; I didn't want to seem weak. I did think about what he said though. _I'm always here for you, you know that right? _I pursed my lips and didn't answer.

"Annabeth." He said gently and turned my chin so I was looking at him. I tried staring at his deep intense eyes but quickly dropped my gaze again. I cleared my throat.

"Yeah, I know." I said quietly and brushed a stray hair behind my ear. I stood up and managed to give him a small smile. "I should get going, but thank you." I thanked again. Before I left, I gave him a slight peck on the cheek and then walked out of his house without looking back. My face was slightly pink and the cold air contrasted with them. Maybe I didn't need those designs even if they were important; I should learn to make my own beautiful designs myself. Besides, I already had the one thing in my life that really mattered.

A friend.

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**Okay, there isn't a lot of Annabeth/Percy in there but I PINKIE SWEAR that there will be in the future chapters. BEAR WITH ME! (Did I use the right bear? LOL) THANKS FOR READING! New chapter will be up tomorrow afternoon/evening but I might have a different timezone so yeah... ANYWAY PLEASE leave a review, THERES NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT _AND _THERES ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT! ALWAYS! Let me know of any errors, I can take criticism (most of the time lol)ANYWAY! PEACE!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, I'M BACK! I didn't die! (surprisingly LOL) I said I was going to update way sooner but I never did- maybe I shouldn't make promises I can't even keep. . LOL anyway thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter but my amount of views have been going down :( PLEASE let other people know of this story! :) It would make my day!**

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Annabeth PoV

The next morning, I was still thinking of yesterday. Every time I remembered it, my face would heat up and I would be glad nobody was around. Well except my mother she was still around, but I was still angry with her. I couldn't really tell her that when she was drunk or passed out though. I knew if she weren't like that, she would never have burned the designs. She would have never ripped up the pictures either. She wouldn't have broken my heart every time she stumbled through the front door.

I walked to school without anyone walking with me. I didn't mind it though; I kind of wanted the silence this morning. I wanted to try and listen to what my heart was telling me. But all I heard were the regular thumps like a drum beating.

When I got to school, Percy was already there taking things out of his locker and didn't notice me. I went to my locker and took my books out. I noticed Percy was staring at me at fought down a blush.

"Stop staring at me." I muttered and turned my back to him. I knew he was grinning without even having to look.

"Somebody's embarrassed." He whispered in my ear. It sent shivers down my back knowing he was so close. I turned around and he _was _grinning. I rolled my eyes.

"Leave some space Percy, before Thalia sees us." I raised my eyebrows and gently pushed him back.

"Speaking of Thalia…"He trailed off and looked at the door. I sighed.

"She's already here? Don't I ever get any peace?" I protested and turned. Yes, she was there crossing her arms and scowling at me. I knew that expression. It was a: _You are so dead _kind of look. "Crap, what did I do?" I asked. She stormed over to me and looked at me expectantly. "Hi Thalia." I greeted.

"You didn't wait for me." She glared.

"There's a reason for that." Percy said from behind me.

"Yeah defend your girlfriend go ahead." Thalia scowled. Percy and me blushed a little.

"We're not together." I protested. She raised an eyebrow.

"Is that why you're both blushing?" she asked and I blushed a deeper shade of red. I could actually feel my face heat up. I remembered last night and if it was possible- blushed way redder. I didn't even look at Percy- I would be sure it would give something away.

"So Thalia, where's Nico?" I tried to change the subject.

"He's not here yet." She stated.

"Well, then shouldn't you be waiting for him and everything? I mean you are his girlfriend!" I smirked. Percy watched us like a tennis match as we hit back and forth. He didn't say anything; he just watched and crossed his arms- clearly amused.

"We aren't together. I'm not _that _desperate like you when you try to get Percy." She glared. My face turned pink.

"I'm not trying to get Percy and I'm _not _desperate!" I lied. I avoided looking at Percy. _Annabeth, you're a really bad liar. _I remembered him telling me once.

"Lying doesn't change anything." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but I'm not lying." I shot back. _Maybe I am a bad liar. _

"Uh, yeah you are." She scoffed.

"Can you prove that?" I asked. She paused and then glared at me.

"I don't need to prove something to be right." She pointed out.

"In this case, your not right though." I crossed my arms.

"Can you prove that?" she mocked.

"I don't need to, I'm already right." I rolled my eyes.

"Uh no you aren't." she shook her head.

"Yeah I am."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Well you aren't right, so that would have to make me right." I stuck my chin up.

"Nu-uh." She protested. "You told me yourself that you liked Percy." She rolled her eyes. My ears turned red.

"Yes I did. I do like him as a friend." I nodded. She glared.

"We both know that's not what you meant." She said.

"No, _you _thought it was something else." I denied.

"No, _we _both knew what it _really _meant." She held her head up like mine. I suddenly noticed Nico right behind Thalia with his eyebrows raised like: _What happened this time? _I'm saved!

"Sure believe what you want to. Why don't you tell that to your boyfriend." I gestured to Nico. Her cheeks filled with a little red.

"I'm not his girlfriend." Thalia said just as Nico said, "I'm not her boyfriend." I grinned from ear to ear.

"Sure you aren't." I said sarcastically just as the bell rang. I smirked one last time, then turned on my heel and walked toward my first period class. I'll never go down without a fight.

During lunch was when the chaos started.

Percy, Thalia, Nico and I were all just sitting at our regular table making fun of each other- as usual- when Violet (of course) strutted over with her "friends" (I call them followers) right behind her like bodyguards. Like they could do much. They were as harmless as butterflies but looked like clowns with all the unneeded make-up on their faces. Violet was carrying her lunch tray in her hands- macaroni and cheese, which looked more like floating wet noodles in cheesy water-, ice-cold water, low fat ice cream, and a bag of kettle potato chips.

"Hey Percy." She smiled and paused at our table. She stuck out her hip and straightened up so she looked taller in her heels. To me- she just looked like the same old brat.

"What do you want?" I rolled my eyes and continued working on my new designs. I was happy with them so far- I tried to take_ some_ ideas from my father's from memory. But only some. They still looked decent, and maybe even pretty good. One day I hope to go to Rome and see the Pantheon. I want to see everything the world has to offer. Everything.

"You should be a lot nicer if you know what's good for you. It's almost time for the dance and you still don't have a date." She laughed like the idea found her funny.

"Yeah well neither do you." I scoffed and didn't look up. I just continued sketching like she never said anything.

"I could get one whenever I wanted unlike you." She smirked.

"I bet I could get a date before you." I told her.

"Okay fine, you're on. If I can get a date before you, you have to do all my homework for a month." She said promptly like she was already sure she was going to win. Plus, homework is not a problem for me. And she never said I had to get all the problems _right. _Hehe evil Annabeth, muhahahaha!

"If I win, you have to not bother me, Percy, Thalia, or Nico for a month." I stated. She nodded.

"You are on. Bet starting now." She smirked.

"Okay. Hey Percy, want to go to the dance with me?" I asked and said with my eyes: _Go with it, go with it. _He grinned.

"Sure." He said and then turned to Violet. "Looks like you lose Violet." Her face turned red with rage.

"That's not fair!" she protested.

"How is it not fair? You said whoever gets a date first, I got a date first I win." I shrugged. She couldn't respond. I could almost see her brain trying to process something to say back. Instead, she just took her tray and dumped it on me. I blinked in surprise as her ice cream trickled down my hair and onto my clothes, the cheesy water soaking my hair, and potato chips stuck on in my hair also. Thalia immediately got up from the table and went right up to her and punched her in the gut without hesitation. She doubled back and stared at Thalia in shock. Nico, Percy and I also got up from our table and walked straight over to her. Roy and his buddies also got up and walked over to where _we _were standing. We were all standing right across from each other in the middle of the cafeteria glaring while Violet and her followers stayed back and talked to her as she held her stomach.

"What now Roy? Want to protect Violet? Are you hoping you could maybe get her for one night?" I asked and turned my head to the side slightly like I was asking an innocent question. So _not _true. No teenager is innocent. He glared at me for a second before he responded.

"No. But you'd need a few brain cells in order to know the difference wouldn't you bitch? Your just another one of those dumb-blondes." He scoffed. Fire flared in my eyes. He did _not _call me a dumb-blonde. I can take most insults but _that? _No. Nope. I am in _no _possible way a dumb-blonde. I am exactly opposite if that's even possible. I launched myself at him suddenly and forced him to the ground. I kicked him in the ribs hard and where the sun doesn't shine. That would teach _him _better to call _me _a dumb blonde. Just when I thought it was okay- one of his friends tackled me to the ground. He was one of the tough football player's too- so he was stronger then Roy. All hell broke loose. Percy started fighting another one of his friends and so did Nico and Thalia. It was a brawl- and everyone was fighting a certain person. Everyone else was watching as we fought. I was surprised no teachers had come yet. But just when I thought it couldn't get worse- the principal- yes, the _principal _just decided to stroll through the cafeteria and see us all. We all stopped in motion and stared guiltily.

We were _so _busted.

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**OMG thank you for reading all! Please review, theres no such thing as perfect. Theres always room for improvement! I'll tell you what- I'll start writing the next chapter as soon as I get 6 reviews from DIFFERENT people. DIFFERENT. May still take awhile because I have school for 8 hours and I'm sleeping for like 6 hours so DON'T feel like I won't like go with my deal I can't write when I'm asleep (I hope not lol) or at school. THANKS AGAIN! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! I'M BACK! Yes I got 7 reviews last chapter even though I needed 6 so I was super happy so like I said- I started writing the chapter as soon as I saw the reviews! Thank you all for reviewing and everyone that is just READING this story! :)I can't believe I'm already on the 10th chapter! :o You guys are amazing! THANK YOU AGAIN! **

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Annabeth PoV

I never thought me, out of all the people in the world _me, _Annabeth Chase was going to be stuck in the principal's office. I always stayed out of trouble but _now _it was all different. At least I had Percy, Thalia and Nico by my side through it all, but it didn't help when Roy and his friends were glaring at us evilly like we're the only ones who had anything to do with it.

"Never in all my years have teaching have I seen such a fight at this school." The Principal, Mr. Hudson, shook his head in disappointment. _That's surprising. _"Why don't you start Annabeth with your side first." He told me. I cleared my throat and tried to keep calm. It was just the principal, nothing to be worried about.

"We were all standing in the cafeteria across from each other when Roy started calling me some names and it got me angry so I pushed him to the floor and kicked him in a couple places. Then one of his friends tackled me and the fight started." I explained. I didn't say anything about Violet- I didn't want Thalia in more trouble and I didn't want more drama anyway. I also didn't mention _where _I kicked Roy. The principal nodded and then motioned for Roy to go.

"It's basically what Annie said except she also said some mean things back." Roy taunted. I couldn't say anything back with the principal standing so close. I settled for a glare and crossed my arms.

"Very well. I think you all deserve after school detention for a month with Mr. Chiron starting next week." He commanded us all. Thank god it was Mr. Chiron. At least he was a laid back teacher and it wasn't someone like Ms. Dodds. (Shudders) We all got up out of our seats and left the Principal's office. Nobody said anything to each other; we didn't want to cause more trouble. Plus that lady who hated kids was watching us as we left with her little phony smile so even if I wanted to do or say anything- should would have caught us and sent us right back inside the office.

After school, Nico had to go straight home right away so it was just Percy, Thalia and I as we walked down the sidewalk towards Percy's house. We decided that we were going to chill at his house for a couple hours after the long day. Plus his mom wasn't going to be home so we don't have to limit what we do.

When we entered, the place smelled like homemade cookies. The aroma filled the whole entire house and soothed my sensed. We trailed the smell and found a rack of _blue _cookies on the kitchen table. Then looked delicious. But why _blue? _Why not just regular.

"Sweet my mom baked cookies again!" Percy cheered and grabbed one instantly like he was used to them being blue. I rolled my eyes.

"That's what your happy about? The cookies?" I asked but took one anyway. As soon as I took a bite I knew I was in heaven. It practically melted in my mouth into cookie sludge. They were _so _soft- just how I love them! I haven't had homemade cookies since…

And that's when I blacked out.

When I came to my senses, I was on the floor and my vision was a little fuzzy. The hardwood floor was under my body and I had trouble just sitting up. My head hurt like I just bumped it on something. I rubbed it uncomfortably. I suddenly realized that Percy and Thalia were looking down at me with worried expressions on their faces.

"Ugh what the hell happened?" I asked and blinked a couple times. I stood up but stumbled over immediately and accidently leaned into Percy. He steadied me and I could feel my face heat up. I grabbed the chair for support and looked at the expectantly.

"You blacked out as soon as you ate the cookie." Thalia pointed to the ground and I could see a blue cookie with a bite out of it. I suddenly remembered. Those cookies…they were homemade and reminded me of my dad and mom. Every Sunday we would settle down in the kitchen and bake cookies. We don't do that anymore. Everything changed. I never realized how much it hurt to remember we didn't have that anymore. My knees buckled even though I was still leaning on the chair but luckily Percy caught me before I could fall. He pulled me up and sat me down in the dining table chair.

"Annabeth are you okay?" Percy asked obviously concerned. He must have seen my face turn pale even though it was bright red before. I force myself to give a small smile.

"Yeah I'm fine." I tried to convince them even though I just blacked out earlier. Thalia stared at me.

"Seriously Annabeth? You think that's going to make us think your okay?" Thalia raised her eyebrows.

"I'm fine." I repeated. "See? I can stand." I said as I stood up. My knees started to gain strength again. What I was thinking when we went to Percy's house was a nice hang out with talking and laughing. But no, I never get what I think do I? The looked at me cautiously.

"Okay, but Annabeth we're always here to support you." Percy told me. Thalia nodded.

"I know, I'm fine guys just tired today." I lied.

"Alright Annabeth." Thalia shrugged and looked at the cookies longingly like she was afraid that _she _would pass out if she ate them.

"Percy where's you bathroom?" I asked. I needed to get out of this room. I needed some time to think.

"Down the hall take a right." He said and then grabbed another cookies. I gave another phony smile and then quickly walked to it.

As soon as I entered I locked the door behind me and splashed cool water on my face. The icy water seemed to calm me down a little, but I needed the wind. The fresh wind- but that was outside and I wasn't outside. There were no windows inside the bathroom so I was stuck in here now. I steadied my breathing and felt my heart beating fast. I splashed my face one more time with water then walked out. I kept up the fake smile and found them sitting on the couch talking like nothing was wrong. I sat in between them and slumped back.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" I asked as Thalia played catch with herself using a red delicious apple.

"I dunno. No swim meets for Percy, and dance is next Wednesday." Thalia shrugged and then tossed the apple to me. I tossed it back and we started playing catch.

"You swim?" I asked Percy.

"No, that's why I go to swim meets." Percy said sarcastically.

"No wonder you're such a seaweed brain." I rolled my eyes and continued catching. Thalia suppressed a smile.

"Really? Seaweed brain?" Percy asked.

"Well your not really smart and you like to swim." I said like it was obvious. I don't know why- the name stuck. It felt so right, like it was a missing piece to a perfect puzzle to him. His personality. I must have been smiling because Thalia was smirking at me. I scowled at her and chucked the apple at her as hard as I could.

"Ow!" she protested.

"Oh sorry, did that hurt?" I said innocently. She glared at me and crossed her arms.

"Meanie." She pouted. I laughed. My sweet kind of laugh that I almost rarely give. That made her smile. She forgot how I just chucked an apple at her. Suddenly Percy's phone rang and he sighed over dramatically. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Oh hey Nico." He said brightly but then his expression turned a little dark. "Okay Nico, we're on our way." He said. He seemed concerned. He hung up then turned to us.

"Nico's in trouble." He said darkly.

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**Thank you all for reading this chapter! Please review, theres no such thing as perfect and theres always room for improvement! As soon as I get 10 reviews I will start writing the next chapter. May take awhile- but don't feel i'm not going to do my part of the deal it just I have studying and homework and I'm also sleeping for like 8 hours _and _I'm not always looking at my email for reviews so THATS why it may seem like I'm not updating but I promise! I will write as soon as I see 10 reviews from _different _people. THANKS! (I HOPE YOU READ THIS, IT'S IMPORTANT!) PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys I'M BACK with ANOTHER chapter for you guys! Okay I'm having a little problem, this story isn't getting a lot of views. It started off with 500 and thats great but then it started to drop so PLEASE tell other people about this story! Everybody deserves to read it so if you could spread the word that would be GREAT! :) Thank you all for your reviews for LAST chapter! They really motivated me to keep writing especially when you guys told me to update soon Lol :)**

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Annabeth PoV

His words rang off the walls but nobody said anything. We just stared at him in shock. Nico was in trouble. I stole a glance at Thalia. Her face was pale and her eyes filled with worry.

"Nico's in trouble?" she stammered. I never saw this side of Thalia. Usually I saw the tough and rough side of her but now she looks on the verge of crying.

"Well we have to go now!" I said confidently and stood up. They stood up with me and we raced out the door. "Did he say anything else?" I asked Percy as I whistled for a cab. Luckily there was one passing just then. We all scrambled in wild-eyed. Percy told the driver the address and soon enough we were off. Even if I didn't know Nico as much as I did with Percy and Thalia, he was still my friend and I still cared for him. He didn't make fun of me either when I came to school on my first day. He even fought with us in the cafeteria.

"No, he just said he was in trouble and needed help." Percy shrugged. I sighed and played with my hands. Suddenly the car jerked to a stop and we all crawled out. Percy hurriedly paid the driver and we ran up to his house.

The door was unlocked, so I could easily open it. I held my breath and walked it. I didn't know what I was expecting, but I didn't expect Nico to be sitting on a pale white couch cradling a girl in his arms. We all stared at her and then back at him. Thalia had a jealous look in her eyes.

I looked closer and realized the girl had dark hair and the same eyes as Nico. Their skins were different; the girl's was tanner. I knew she couldn't be his girlfriend- the way Nico held her was different. It was more of a protective way. I realized how bad of a state the girl was. Her breathing was slow and there was blood trickling down her forehead.

"Nico?" Percy said obviously flabbergasted.

"Is that your sister?" I asked. Nico looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and watery. He managed a small nod and pulled her closer to him like we would hurt her.

"Bianca." He whispered and his eyes trailed along her unconscious figure. Thalia looked at him with sympathy and no longer with jealousy. Percy rushed over and put a hand on Nico's shoulder- trying to console him.

"Nico we need to get her to the hospital." He said softly. Nico looked up at him and stood up- bringing Bianca with him. He picked her up bridal style and held her close to his chest. He didn't say how she got like this, but I figured he just didn't want to talk about it. I felt that way a lot, so I could relate. Nobody asked him anything; we all knew he would when he could.

Unfortunately, no cabs came this time to help us. Instead, Nico pointed off to a truck in his driveway like he didn't have the strength to speak. I didn't have my driver's license, and I didn't think Percy did. I knew Nico wouldn't want too drive, and Thalia would want to stay with Nico. I had an idea on how to drive, and I was smart so I should be able to figure it out. Especially when I was desperate.

I pulled myself into the driver's spot and found the keys right in the seat. Percy sat in the shotgun seat while Nico, Bianca and Thalia sat in the back.

I forced myself not to panic. Nobody could afford that right now. Luckily I actually knew where the hospital was. I always kept a map of it in my bedroom in case I ever had to get there quickly for my mom. I didn't want her to die like my dad. I wanted to be able to save her. Even if she wasn't much of use to me right now she was still family. Even if she burned all my good chances of relating to my dad.

I drove quickly down the streets to where the hospital was. I could see Thalia holding Nico's hand comfortingly from in the mirror. Usually I would have teased her, but right now wasn't the time. She was trying to make him feel better anyway and I could understand that. Sometimes people just need to be comforted. Nobody said anything and I could only hear the rasp breathing of Bianca, which encouraged me to drive faster.

We got their do to my "accidental" speeding. (Not really accidental, but somebody was on the verge of dying so it's not my fault!) We all ran out of the car and helped Nico with Bianca so we could get there faster. We burst through the doors and rushed to the desk. The women there took one look and then called for a doctor. Nico and Bianca got rushed to an emergency room while Percy, Thalia and me were forced to wait. I couldn't help but think of the time I last went to a hospital…when my dad had died. They had forced us to wait outside too. Does that mean Bianca would die? No, I can't think like that. I don't care if I don't know her she deserves to live. She's young, and can have a whole life in front of her. She deserved to life that life even if it was good or bad. My dad was old and he already lived his life. He was done. Sometimes I think he knew it too.

Percy called his mom to tell her to come as fast as she could- and that he was at the hospital and what happened to Nico. He offered the phone to me- to call my parents but I just shook my head. I didn't explain why, and he didn't ask. He just sat back down and stared at the hallway where they lead Nico and Bianca away. Right now wasn't the time to talk.

This hospital looked almost exactly the same as the one back in California. It couldn't be a coincidence; it must have been my haunting memories coming back again. The same exact pale blue walls and little benches lined against the walls. I scooted over closer to Percy for comfort and put my head on his shoulder while wrapping one of my arms around him. He didn't say anything; he just pulled me closer and put one of his arms around my waist while holding my other hand with his other hand. Thalia didn't say anything, like she understood. She didn't even smirk- which wasn't really like her. I guess none of us were like ourselves right now. Just like I never said anything to her when she was with Nico.

Percy's mom came just a few minutes after that with Mr. Blofis trailing behind her. What was a schoolteacher doing here? I didn't let go of Percy I just snuggled in closer. His mom raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. She sat down next to Thalia while Mr. Blofis sat down next to her.

"Hi dad, hey mom." Percy nodded to them. _Mr. Blofis was Percy's dad? _Then how was Percy's dad lost at sea? Unless that was his step-dad because they didn't look anything alike. I settled in with that idea and let out a sigh. Percy wouldn't lie to me.

We must have been sitting there for about an hour when Nico came out. His expression told me something really bad happened. His eyes were watery like he'd been crying and were red. None of us made fun of him.

"Bianca had a concussion." He explained shakily. I was about to reply with: _Well that's not too bad! _When he said something else after that.

"She has amnesia." He stammered.

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**DUN DUN DUN! :O! IKR? Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter, and remember to tell people about this please if you can! :) I like a lot of views! Please leave a review theres no such thing as perfect, and theres always room for improvement. I know last chapter I said I required 10 reviews and I got 8, but I decided I would post a chapter anyway. (So nice right? lol not really irl!) Please leave reviews they help me write! THANKS! PEACE OUT! -MM**


	12. Chapter 12

**Oh my god guys i'm super sorry I took so long to update! :( I was so busy, and thank you all for waiting! I'd like to thank you all for your views, there was only 4 less views then the last chapter which was AWESOME since it was usually like a 20 view difference. PLEASE tell other people about this story, more views would be great! Thanks guys your amazing! (But I don't need to tell you that do I?)**

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Annabeth PoV

We all stared at him. I lifted my head off of Percy's shoulder. _Amnesia. _That's horrible! I scanned Nico, and he looked on the verge of having a meltdown. His sister has amnesia and probably won't even remember him. I would hate to be in his position and I don't know if I would be able to go on. I hoped Nico knew that he was strong enough to go on and live his life. Just because his sister doesn't remember anything doesn't mean he can't live his life. Nothing should stop him from that. Thalia looked shocked.

"Amnesia?" she stammered. He gave a small nod. She stood up and walked to him- at first I thought she was going to hit him but she hugged him instead. I would have smiled if it weren't so sad.

On the way home, Bianca was actually conscious but her eyes were darting around from thing to thing trying to process everything around her. The doctors had said she can still talk, read, write and all that stuff but she won't remember anything from her past. She won't remember any of her family or friends.

Luckily, I didn't have to drive all of them home. Since there wasn't enough room in the truck, Percy and me had to sit in the back of the truck where the wind would tug at my loose hair and make it flow behind me. I could easily just pull myself over the edge and fall down onto the street and literally end it all, but I stayed put. I couldn't do that especially after what happened to Bianca. Besides- I still haven't fixed my mom's problems and I knew I had to do that. No matter what was to come my way, I would. I had to. I was destined to.

"What are you thinking?" Percy asked as he tugged one of my loose strands of hair behind my ear. The sudden movement sent shivers down my spine- but Percy probably thought it was just the freezing air that caused it.

"I don't know, my thoughts are jumbled right now." I admitted. Percy sighed.

"Just imagine how Nico feels." Percy shook his head. _If only you knew what I had to go through. What I have to go through. _

"I know." I said instead and looked inside the truck. Mr. Blofis was driving while Percy's mom sat in the shotgun seat. In the back, Nico sat closely to Bianca but she didn't seem to understand anything about him- which she shouldn't. The window that was separating us was closed so they couldn't hear us.

"I wonder if her memories will ever come back." Percy wondered. I hoped so, she deserved her memories. They were _hers. _They belonged to her.

"I wonder what happened for her to become like that." I said and looked at Nico. He still hadn't said anything about it, like the truth scared him to death. Maybe he just needed time to think. _That _I could understand. I always needed time to think.

I rubbed my arms and shivered. It was pretty cold out but luckily the car stopped before it could get any colder. We were back at Percy's. His mom and step-dad dropped us off and then left to go drop off Nico, Bianca, and Thalia at their houses, which left Percy and me alone. I stared back at my lonely house with none of the lights on. It looked dark and gloomy. My mom's car wasn't there so I knew she was still out even if it was already late into the night. I turned back to Percy and managed a small little smile.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow Percy." I said quietly. He nodded and gave me a small little smile too. He walked up his front steps and entered his house. I still looked where he left even though he was gone.

I finally turned on my heel and stepped inside my own house. The temperature didn't change and if it was possible, it dropped even lower which caused me to shiver constantly while gritting my teeth in order to stop them from chattering. I didn't close any of the windows though. I left them wide open.

I stumbled to my room and fell down onto my bed. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and was surprised when I saw a tiny drop of blue cookie crumb fall out. I winced at the memory and brushed the crumb off my bed. I wanted to get some peaceful sleep tonight, not haunting ones.

But that didn't happen.

Of course, the time my family baked cookies had to come back while I was sleeping.

"_Daddy! It's time for the cookies!" I squealed and grabbed his arm- trying to pull him away from the T.V. He smiled at me. _

"_Annie, Mom isn't home yet." He scolded but he kept smiling._

"_Dad! My name is not Annie it's Annabeth! I told you! If you were going to call me Annie for all my life why didn't you just name me Annie?" I huffed and put my hands on my hips. He chuckled and stroked my hair. _

"_Oh Annabeth, always a drama queen aren't you?" he said. I held my head up high._

"_I am not a drama queen!" I protested and crossed my arms. Then I heard the front door open and then footsteps. "YAY! She's home! Cookie time!" I giggled and pulled my dad up. This time he didn't protest. _

_I led him to the kitchen where my mom was already waiting with all the supplies out. Always prepared. Just like me. Well, just like I used to._

"_Okie! Time to bake cookies!" I said happily. _

"_You just want the cookies, that's why you're baking them." My dad rolled his eyes._

"_Don't roll your eyes at me mister." I demanded. My mom laughed and then tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. _

"_You never change, do you Annie?" My mom said kindly. I frowned. _

"_My name is Annabeth!" I said again. My parents chuckled as they started making the batter. I sat on the counter top watching them. My mom finally gave me the bowl and I smiled. My favorite part besides eating- stirring. _

_When the batter was creamy, I gave the bowl to my dad. He poured the batter into equal circles on a pan and put it in the oven. I sat down in front of the oven and watched them eagerly. _

"_Annie it's not going to get done any faster when you watch it." My mom chuckled. I scowled._

"_My name is Annabeth, and look! The dough is starting to rise so it _**is **_working!" I protested. _

"_Oh Annie, will you ever learn?" My dad smiled. _

"_My name is Annabeth!" I told them for the fourth time. _

"_We know Anna, you don't have to tell us." My mom assured me. _

"_Anna is worse!" I whined. _

"_OK Annie, we won't call you Anna." My dad promised. _

"_Yes, but I still don't like Annie." I huffed. _

"_Annie, the cookies are ready step aside." My mom said. I didn't even care if she called me Annie that time, as long as the cookies were ready. She pulled the tray out of the oven and placed them on the counter. I reached for them but my dad gently pulled my hand away._

"_Annabeth, be patient!" My dad scolded jokingly. I glared at him._

"_I don't care if I burn all of my taste buds!" I told him but I waited anyway. I always listened to my father. Well, most of the time._

_When they were all done cooling, I immediately grabbed one and stuffed it in my mouth without savoring it. It was soft and chewy, but it wasn't dry. Just how I love it. I smiled my little smile at them. _

"_Remember to breath Annie." My dad joked. I scowled at him._

"_Breathing is a necessary need to live because you get oxygen inside of you and without oxygen-" I started rambling._

"_Okay, okay Annie we get it." My mom laughed. _

_But if my dad got the concept, why did he die? Why?_

I woke with a start and realized I had been crying in my sleep. The tears soaked my pillows and made my cheeks wet. I wiped them away but continued crying. I hugged my knees and stared out my window. My mom's car was still gone. I wish she were here with her normal self so I had someone to cry with. Someone who would understand. Percy wouldn't have and plus I couldn't go to him with every little nightmare I had.

I cried the whole night.

I hate my life.

I hate my past.

Why dad? Why did you have to let go?

Why…?

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**Thank you for reading this chapter! Please remember to review, I got 9 reviews last chapter so PLEASE keep it up. THANKS! Theres no such thing as perfect, theres always room for improvement and EVERYBODY MAKES MISTAKES! THANKS EVERYONE**

**PEACE OUT!**

**-MM**


	13. Chapter 13

**Yay! I'm back with another chapter and I want to thank you all for the reviews last chapter! Please remember to view this and tell everyone else so I can get more views! Thank you guys for also supporting me. YOU GUYS ROCK!**

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Annabeth PoV

The next morning, I almost couldn't get out of my own bed. I was so tired. So exhausted.

I blindly grabbed some clothes out of my drawers and headed to the bathroom. I didn't care what I was wearing, well unless it was like a mini skirt or something because I would _not _wear that in a million years. _Never. _

I didn't bother brushing my hair; it would always get tangled anyway. Instead I glanced at myself in the mirror. I was wearing navy blue jeans, and a gray t-shirt. Well that isn't bad. In fact, I kind of liked it. The gray t-shirt matched my eyes.

I walked out my front door and closed it behind me. My mom's car was still gone even though she would usually be back by now. I bit my lip but continued down the sidewalk. I glanced behind me but Percy wasn't there. Neither was Thalia, but I figured she would be walking with Nico today. Either that or she would help Nico take care of Bianca. I could understand that though. And plus, I didn't _need _someone to walk with me. I did it a lot back in California.

When I entered the school there wasn't a lot of kids. I figured they didn't like coming early on a Friday. I mean- who would want to? I wouldn't usually, but I had nothing better to do. I couldn't sleep in, I was so damn afraid of my dreams. I know its pretty weird of being afraid of dreams but if you were in my shoes, you would understand. I just didn't want my memories to creep back on me. It was just too hard to forget. Too important to forget.

I went to my locker and took out the books I needed. Percy still wasn't here yet so I figured he was sleeping in. We all didn't get a lot of sleep due to last night with the whole Bianca fiasco. I hoped she was doing ok.

I took out one of my design notebooks and took out a pencil. I started sketching and then remembered about my dad's designs. A sharp needle of pain grew in my heart. I closed my eyes and tried to forget. I shook my head and put my notebook away. Looks like I can't even do my favorite thing anymore. I sighed deeply and stared up at the ceiling. Everything reminded me of him, _everything. _Even a freaking cup of water. I mean- he drank water too, it makes sense. Maybe not to anyone else, but to me it did. I couldn't get it out of my mind.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked. I shifted my eyes so I was looking at him and not at the ceiling.

"Oh hey Percy." I greeted and moved a little so he could get to his locker. I tried for a smile and tried to hide my emotions. He didn't say anything- but I knew he could tell something was wrong. I could just see it in the way he looked at me. Thank god he didn't ask.

"Any sign of Nico or Thalia?" He said in a low voice. I shook my head.

"What do you expect?" I rolled my eyes and leaned against my locker. He just shrugged.

"He still has a lot of explaining to do." He said.

"Yeah, but he probably needs some time to think." I reasoned. He sighed.

"Not everybody needs time to think like you Annie." He grinned.

"Oh shut up seaweed brain. And for your information, my name is Annabeth not Annie. I know you have a memory span of a goldfish, but still." I rolled my eyes.

"I do not have a memory span of a goldfish." He protested.

"Oh sorry I forgot. Goldfish have a memory span of two seconds- which is one more second then Percy's!" I said brightly. He scowled at me.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically.

"Your welcome." I responded and acted like I didn't hear the sarcasm. I then registered what he said before. _Not everybody needs to think like you Annie. _Annie.

Annie.

Just like my parents.

Just how they called me.

I almost lost balance but then regained myself before I could cause any suspicion. I let out air and breathed it in. No, I was not going to pass out again. Especially not at school with everyone around. I bit my lip and pushed the feeling away. No, I had to get through this day. I _had _to. I _needed _to. I needed to prove to myself that I could survive a week at a different school with people I didn't even know. I owed that to myself and I needed to complete the task. Annabeth Chase does _not _on **any **circumstance quits. _Never. _

"Percy…" I started but then stopped myself. I thought about telling him but I didn't. Not right now. It wasn't the time.

"Yeah?" he asked and stared at me with his gorgeous green eyes.

"Um, never mind." I decided and then turned my gaze to the floor. I studied my worn out shoes and didn't look at him. I felt like he could pull out all my secrets even if I so much just look at him. He decided not to push it and just shrugged instead. He must have known that I just didn't feel like talking. I loved people that did that. The people that actually understood, but I hardly ever met people like that.

Like ever.

But then the bell rang, startling me from my thoughts. I turned to Percy and we both walked down the hall in silence to our class. We didn't speak at all. No eye contact. Nothing.

After school was over, I stopped by my locker to empty my backpack. I was so glad Ms. Dodds didn't give us any homework over the weekend. (Weird right? I would think she was that type of teacher)

I met up with Percy at the front of the school. We started down the sidewalk and I looked up at the clouds. They were low and dark and I also couldn't see the sun. I ignored them.

"I hope Bianca is doing okay." Percy admitted.

"Yeah, but she has Nico and Thalia to help." I said. He nodded, but then I felt a drop of water on my head. I raised my hand and felt where the cold water splattered. I looked – again- up and I saw more drops starting to come down. Before I knew it, it was pouring rain. God I love the rain. I glanced at Percy and he was grinning. I guess he loved the rain too.

"Race you." I offered.

"You're on." He smiled and we took off running splashing through puddles while we got soaked. I smiled as I got ahead of him but instead of running further, I slipped and fell down. But instead of crying, I laughed. Soon I saw Percy leaning over me with a smirk on his face. He helped me up anyway.

"Oh and by the way…" he said. "I won." He whispered. I looked behind me and saw my house. I scowled at him.

"Well I slipped." I reasoned.

"And I helped you up." He reasoned back. I loved how we were just standing in the middle of the rain not even caring.

"Yeah, but I never said you had to." I raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to him.

"I know." He nodded and stepped even closer. _Oh god… _I thought. I realized how close we were to each other. He started leaning in and I did too. _Oh my god, is this the moment? _But then right when our lips were about to meet I heard footsteps. We both pulled away and I saw Thalia standing on the sidewalk smirking and crossing her arms.

"Sorry, was I interrupting something?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. I blushed even though the cold rain was running down my face. My hair was completely soaked like I just took a shower. I didn't know what to say, and I guess Percy didn't either. "I was going to ask if you guys had any potatoes…" she trailed off. I frowned at her even though my cheeks were still red.

"Potatoes?" I said confused.

"We're trying to get Bianca to remember things and her favorite food was baked potatoes but Nico didn't have any so he told me to ask you but I guess you have other things on you mind, so I'll just leave you guys alone." She smirked again and ran off. I turned to Percy.

"Well I should probably get going." I told him. He nodded.

"Alright, bye." He said. I smiled and waved as I went up my porch steps and entered my house. I closed the door behind me. It was cold, but I shoved off the feeling. I was about to head off to my room when I saw a note on the table.

A note.

My mom's car was still gone.

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**Okay thank you for reading this chapter people! Please review there is no such thing as perfect, theres always room for improvement and everybody makes mistakes! Thanks guys! Oh and sorry it took longer to update because I had this school thing from 5-8:15 so I updated it as soon as I can. THANKS! REVIEW!**

**- MM**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hai! I'm back again! You guys were like OMG UPDATE (i'm over exaggerating don't worry)so I was like-**

***Hiding in a corner of the room* Don't yell at me! I can't type any faster! (I'm kidding :P)**

**Anyway, guess whats tomorrow? MY BIRTHDAY! YEAHHHHH! So I probably won't be updating since i'll be like partying and like dying and stuff. (I'm kidding)**

**Oh and btw I want to thank you all for your reviews! They are my motivators! Keep it coming please! They can really make my day sometimes THANK YOU! Oh and I really want to get 10 reviews for this chapter. Can you guys make that for my birthday present? 10 reviews? I PROMISE I AM NOT LYING ABOUT MY BIRTHDAY! I pinkie swear! I swear on the river styx! **

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Annabeth PoV

My breath hitched as I started to make my way over to the note. _It'll be fine._ I bit my lip and picked it up. My vision blurred as I started to read the message. I blinked and rubbed my eyes to clear it.

_I'm leaving and I'm never coming back._

_Mom_

I reread the message at least ten times before I realized what this meant. Both my parents left me, and both of them weren't coming back. I sunk to the floor and hid the note away in my pocket. I couldn't bear to look at it anymore, the pain made it too hard. I could feel tears gathering in my eyes and sliding down my cheeks. It wasn't fine. This couldn't be happening; it's all just a bad dream. I'll wake up and my dad would be there and he would have a plate of pancakes waiting for me on the kitchen table back in California. I'd tell him the dream and we'll have a good laugh about it and that would be that. My mom would tell me it would be okay, and that would never happen. I closed my eyes and opened them again, but it was still the same scene in front of me. I was still the same lonely girl. I was still lost in this big world. I buried my head in my arms and started sobbing. What was I going to do? I had no money, no family, and I wasn't going to go chase after my mother. She doesn't want me and she doesn't need me. Nobody wants me right now. Nobody but…

Percy.

Could he comfort me again? Could he show me why?

I pulled myself up and stumbled blindly to my room. My vision was filled with tears making it difficult to see. I reached my window and looked across. Percy's room was filled with darkness. _He's not home. _

"Percy!" I sobbed desperately and sank down to the carpet while leaving my arms on the windowsill. I put my head on top of them and cried. I hate my life. I should have known. I might have been able to catch her before she left, but now it was too late. I couldn't help her now. Percy wasn't here to comfort me either. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw something light up. Was I finally dead? I heard the sound of a window opening and I looked up. There he was. The person I needed the most. The person that could actually be my only hope. The person who wanted me, the person who cared.

"Annabeth…" he seemed loss of words. I hoisted myself up so I was sitting up on my windowsill. He pulled himself up so he was on his windowsill and stepped over to mine and sat across from me. He took me in his arms and pulled him closer to me. I was sure he could feel my heart beat rapidly, but right now I didn't care.

"Percy, this world is too hard to live in." I cried and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"No Annabeth, you're not giving up." Percy told me. "I don't care what the case is, your going to make it through this."

I felt the note in my pocket still; it burned against the fabric and went to my heart. Why did there have to be pain in the world? Why couldn't everything be good? None of this would have happened, and I would have my family back. I wouldn't have a drunken mother at all. She wouldn't have left. I crept one of my hands to my pocket and pulled the note out. It burned my fingers, but I put it into Percy's hands. It wouldn't burn him. I didn't trust myself to speak. I watched as he read over it swiftly and then looked back to me. His eyes were full of sympathy.

"My dad is dead." I explained but then my voice broke again. It was the first time I ever spoke those words. _My dad is dead. _It hurt just to say them, it's like I just confirmed that he was dead. I started crying more dramatically and pressed my face against his shirt. _I need to pull myself together, but how? _

"You hadn't even thought to tell me until now?" Percy asked. I nodded and didn't look at him.

"It was not that long ago and… I guess I just needed time to process it." I explained and choked up. I buried my face deeper into his shirt and held onto him. I took deep breaths until I calmed down. "She became an alcoholic after and…she started doing crazy things. She ripped all the pictures of him and burned all his designs. And now, she's gone. She's never coming back and I'll never see her again." I sobbed. "Everything's haunting me. All my good memories and the bad ones."

"You _are _going to see her again, and you _are _going to make through this. " he ordered. "You're strong Annabeth, maybe even stronger then Thalia. If anyone can make it through, you can. I made it through when my dad got lost at sea. You are going to change your life and your mothers. You're going to show everyone that anything's possible, but first you need to prove it to yourself before you prove it to others. That's why I'm here."

I pulled away so I was looking at him.

"You really thing so-" I said and then suddenly slipped off the window and started falling toward the ground below. _Oh hell no. _ I almost screamed- but then I realized I wasn't falling. I was standing still in air. Well not exactly. I looked up and realized that Percy was holding onto my wrist. He smiled at me. _God, he looks so cute. _I watched as his hair fell in front of his eyes. I thought it just made him look hotter.

"I'm not letting you go that easily." He raised his eyebrows. I blushed and smiled back at him as he pulled me back up to the windowsill.

"Thanks." I continued smiling as he continued holding my wrist. His hand slid down to mine and pulled me and toward him. My heart started beating rapidly as I could feel his chest against mine. His faces were inches away from mine. I stared into his eyes and got lost in them. He leaned down and sealed his lips around mine. My eyes closed as I kissed him back. It was a slow soft kiss that held so much emotion. A kiss I would remember forever. A kiss I would never forget. Suddenly, the note didn't seem like much. I _would _make it through. I _was _going to show everyone that anything's possible. I _was _going to prove it to myself and to other people.

Before the kiss could any more intense, I heard the rustle of bushes. I opened my eyes and pulled away from him. He looked disappointed, but then I looked down to the ground.

Guess what I saw?

Guess _who _I saw?

Violet.

In.

The.

Bushes.

She.

Heard.

Everything.

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**Thank you for reading this chapter! Please review, remember I want at least 10 for my birthday present PLEASE! Theres always room for improvement, theres no such thing as perfect, and everybody makes mistakes! **

**DON'T FORGET PLEASE REVIEW! THANKS AGAIN, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!**

**-MM**


	15. Chapter 15

**HEY! I'm back! Yes, Miss Minecraft is back! I am so sorry this took so long, and it might sound rushed because i was doing this during class (shhh) and so i was hurrying to get it finished. BTW i cannot update over the weekend because i have this super big thing coming up its a science test, and i need to get my grade up so bad. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY WISHES! You guys made my day. YOU GUYS GAVE ME SO MUCH REVIEWS! I LOVE IT KEEP IT COMING PLEASE! I made this chapter kinda longer then usual for you guys. THANKS AGAIN!**

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Annabeth PoV

"Percy." I stammered and pointed down. He looked where I was pointing and I think he paled a bit. Violet squealed and stumbled out of the bush. She stared up at us then ran off down the street. "She saw, she heard. Oh no, she's going to tell everybody, she's going to ruin my life, she-" I rambled but then Percy laced his fingers through mine, which made me calm down.

"Annabeth, its okay. Who cares if she tells everybody? If they even look at you differently I'll make sure they regret it. You have Thalia, Nico and me to protect you. And plus, we're together now and that's all that matters." He said soothingly. I took a deep breath and thought about what he said. _We're together now and that's all that matters. _

"Your right." I sighed and looked directly into his eyes.

"Try and get some rest." Percy told me. I nodded but then I thought about my dreams. I pursed my lips. What if they came back? What if…

"C-can you stay?" I asked. He smiled at me.

"Of course." He said. I smiled back. I loved how he just decided right there. He didn't hesitate. He didn't care if his mother didn't know where he was. He stood by my side because he knew I needed him. He wanted to make sure I was okay. I needed someone like that, and now I have someone to do that.

I closed my eyes and shifted on the windowsill so that my head was resting against his chest. He took his arms and protectively placed them around my waist. I wanted someone to hold me like that forever. Forever.

I woke up to find myself on my bed. I tried getting up but I felt something holding me down. I shifted so I was looking the other way and found Percy sleeping soundlessly right beside me. One of his arms was still around my waist and the other was in my hair. I remembered last night and smiled. Who cares about Violet? And plus, it's the weekend. It's time to finally relax, and not worry. I made it through the week. I now have a _boyfriend. _I took another look at him and snuggled up closer against him. I don't care if we were only together for one day or less. I felt like I knew him for my whole entire life. It felt so…right. It felt so _together, _like we were made for each other. I don't even freaking care how cheesy that sounded. I just loved the way he held me, I loved the way he talked, walked, ran, kissed, I even loved how annoying he was. Even though he can be pretty annoying sometimes.

"Annabeth your knee is in a very uncomfortable place." I heard Percy say. I looked down and found out it _was. _I blushed and removed my knee.

"Sorry." I muttered. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sighed. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Morning." He answered. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Well no duh." I said. "But really, what time is it?" I repeated.

"How am I supposed to know? _You _should know this is _your _room." He said and opened his eyes. I felt better just to see them again. Those mesmerizing green eyes. I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you so annoying?" I asked and stared into his eyes.

"Why don't you keep a clock in your room?" He raised his eyebrows. I scowled at him.

"Why don't you get up and check the oven clock?" I countered.

"Why don't _you _get up and check the oven clock?" He asked.

"But you're my boyfriend so… you have to do things for me now." I smiled.

"Oh playing the 'boyfriend' card are you?" he raised his eyebrows. "Can't think of anything else to say?"

"Just go check." I scoffed. Notice how I didn't admit defeat. He sighed and got up anyway and left the room. I got up too and walked over to my drawer and searched through it for clothes. I found gray sweats, but I couldn't find any shirt. Well, any shirt that was _clean. _I would have to do my laundry later. "Percy! Do you have a shirt I can borrow?" I yelled. I turned around and found him in the doorway.

"Yeah. And by the way, it's 10:24." He smirked and made his way out my window and through his. _Damn, 10:24? _Oh well, I guess I needed the sleep. I never get a lot of sleep anymore. He came back holding a gray t-shirt and threw it at me. I smiled thanks and went into the bathroom to change. The shirt was a little baggy on me considering it was Percy's, but at least it was comfortable. It smelled like him too, like the ocean. I walked out and ruffled my hair a bit.

"Can we go see Nico and Thalia? I haven't seen them in awhile." I asked. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Imagine how Thalia is going to react when she hears about us." Percy scoffed. I laughed and took his hand.

"C'mon seaweed brain, we gotta make this weekend worth it." I smiled and led him out of the room.

"I know a way to make it worth it." He said. A blush crept to my cheeks. I turned around and playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

"Pervert." I muttered and continued leading him out my front door.

"Just giving a suggestion." He laughed. He laced his fingers through mine and we started walking on the sidewalk. We walked in silence, but it was comfortable.

"Thalia's probably at Nico's." I stated. Percy nodded.

"They're inseparable." He grinned. I laughed. That was _so _true. No matter how many excuses she makes that she was just helping with the whole Bianca situation, I'm still going to say she just loved being around Nico. I then realized Percy was staring at me and blushed.

"Stop staring at me." I smiled sheepishly. The sun danced on his black hair making it shine. He grinned and nudged me.

"Not my fault your look beautiful." He muttered in my ear. I rolled my eyes.

"Stop being cheesy, we're here." I said and took my hand away from his to ring the doorbell. It opened and Nico stood there with Thalia by his side. I smirked and Thalia's cheeks turned pink. Then her eyes widened.

"Annabeth why are you wearing Percy's shirt?" Thalia asked.

"Way to make things sound perverted." Nico muttered. Thalia rolled her eyes and pushed Nico out of the doorway to let us in. We both walked in and then sat down on the couch. Thalia sat in a black leather armchair while Nico leaned against the wall.

"No but really, tell me why." Thalia sat back and kicked her feet up on the oak coffee table.

"I didn't have any clean shirts." I rolled my eyes. "Why is there something wrong with it?" I asked.

"No, nothing wrong I was just curious." She grinned.

"Alright whatever, I need to use the bathroom. Where is it Nico?" I asked.

"Down the hall take a right but be quiet, Bianca is still sleeping." He winced slightly at the mention of Bianca but I gave him a reassuring smile. I stood up and gave Percy a peck on the lips and then smiled as I saw Thalia's surprised face. I then quickly walked out of the room and down the hall. I was about to take a right when I saw a door open and Bianca step out of it. She had monkey pajama's on and her dark hair was ruffled like she just woke up, which she probably did. She blinked a couple times and then rubbed her eyes. Then she saw me.

"Hi Bianca. Sorry if I woke you up I was just going to the bathroom." I smiled. She stared at me.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Oh I'm Annabeth, Nico's friend." I clarified.

"Is anybody else out there that I don't know?" she asked.

"Yes, Percy is out there, he's my boyfriend." I said.

"Is Nico's girlfriend out there?" she questioned.

"Nico has a girlfriend?" I widened my eyes.

"Yeah, Thalia. They got together last night, I saw them on the patio kissing but I didn't want to interrupt the moment so I went back to bed." She explained. I smiled evilly. _Oh boy. _

"Yes Thalia's out there." I said. "Nice talking to you Bianca." I smiled and turned on my heel to walk back down the hallway. I entered the living room and killed the smile so nothing was suspicious. I sat down next to Percy while Thalia stared at me.

"You didn't even _tell _me you guys were together?" she scowled and crossed her arms. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"You didn't even _tell _me when you and Nico were together?" I raised my eyebrows. I smiled when I saw Thalia and Nico's cheeks turn pink. "I heard it was out on a patio. I also heard you guys kissed." I grinned as they're cheeks turned red.

"How do you know that?" Nico asked. I cracked my knuckles.

"I have my ways." I smirked. I looked over at Percy to see him smirking too.

"Okay Annabeth you're freaking me out." Thalia said.

"Oh and by the way Bianca's up. I met her on the way to the bathroom." I informed Nico.

"And you still need to tell us how she got like that." Percy reminded him. Nico and Thalia shared a look. I think this is how it went:

Nico: _Should I tell them?_

Thalia: _You're decision, I'm with you with either choice._

Nico: _I don't know if I can. _

Thalia: _I'm right here for support. _

Nico averted his eyes away from her and then looked at both of us. He sighed and pulled up a barstool.

"Alright. So you know how my dad is strict?" Nico asked. We both nodded. "Well, when I got home my dad found about us getting in trouble for that fight. Bianca also happened to be visiting, so when my dad started yelling at me…well she went all 'big sister' mode." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them again and continued with the story. "So my dad got mad at her for taking my side and well, they kept arguing. My dad got really _really _mad, and he pushed her into the corner of that table over there and then left." He explained and then took another shaky breath. Thalia took his hand and squeezed it. I pursed my lips. _He's just like me, no family, except for the fact that he has a sister. He also has Thalia, but I have Percy. And plus, Thalia and Nico are my friends and my friends are all I need. _

"Wow." I said. Percy nodded in agreement.

"Guys, I think we need to have some fun. Lets go to the fair!" Thalia piped up. _Oh god, not the fair. _I started feeling queasy. My family and me used to go to the fair every single summer. I glanced over at Percy and he seemed to sense my uneasiness. He took my hand and I pursed my lips. It will be fine, nothing will happen. I should be allowed to have fun with my friends.

"Alright." I finally said. Nico managed a weak smile.

"Okay, I'm just going to call Zoe to watch Bianca. They _were _best friends, and she's the only one I can trust." Nico said and left the room. I sighed and kicked my feet up on the couch armchair.

"So how did you two get together?" Thalia asked as she tapped her silver charm bracelet. I fought down a blush and leaned my back against Percy.

"We kissed on a windowsill, but um," I hesitated. Should I tell her about Violet and my family? She was going to find out anyway, but maybe I should just tell them later. I mean- weekends were meant for fun. I deserve fun. I've been through a lot lately. "And that's it." I ended. I could tell she knew I was holding back something, but she didn't push it. Just then Nico reentered the room and pulled on his jacket.

"You guys ready?" he asked. We all got up from our seats and nodded.

"We were born ready." We all smirked at the same time.

When we got to the fair, I swear I was about to fall over. I was so nervous and excited at the same time. We all ran in and went to the nearest rollercoaster we found. It was freaking _huge! _It didn't go that high, but it twisted you upside-down and then back up and then it repeated and kept twisting. So of course, we had to go on it.

I got strapped in next to Thalia while Nico and Percy sat behind us. We started going up and I gripped the bars tightly. Then hell started. Thalia and me were screaming the whole entire time with our hands up in the air. It was so fun. When we got off the boys just rolled their eyes like it was no big deal. Sure. I totally believe that.

The next ride we went on was flying chairs. My absolute _favorite. _We got put into pairs, so I sat next to Percy while Thalia and Nico sat in the chairs behind us. I smiled to myself as we started rising up into the air until we were at least 40 feet up in the air. I looked behind me to see Thalia closing her eyes. She looked pale. _Oh shit, she's afraid of heights. _I turned my attention to Percy and smiled. He smiled back as we started spinning around. It _was _like I was flying. It was amazing. I was sad when the ride was over.

When we were done with that ride, we wasted no time running to the bumper cars. Thalia looked back to normal now that we were back on the ground. We laughed like maniacs as we bumped into each other and to random people. We were all smiling when we got out and then we walked back into the found area. I mean come on, if you go to the fair you _have _to get food.

"I want Italian food." Nico whined.

"Shut up death breath. Get your head out of your ass and get something interesting for a change. OH MY GOD IT'S A CHURRO STAND!" She widened her eyes and ran over immediately. We burst out laughing and followed her. We all grabbed a churro and ate it happily. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Well, not that long but it felt like a long time. We sat on a nearby bench and licked our fingers.

"What now? If we go on another ride I'll throw up." Thalia groaned.

"What color would your throw up be?" I asked curiously.

"Why would you want to know?" She said like she was disgusted. I shrugged.

"Why would you date Nico?" I asked and turned my head to the side.

"Fair point." She nodded.

"Hey!" Nico protested and pushed her off the bench. She fell on the grass and stared up at him in shock.

"You did not just do that." She crossed her arms as she stood up.

"Your screwed Nico." Percy pointed out.

"You guys won't protect me?" he pouted.

"That's hilarious, like we would do that." I rolled my eyes. "This is Thalia we're talking about."

"Yeah, I'm going to run now." Nico said and took off running. Thalia- of course- chased him and didn't bother apologizing when she knocked into people. Typical Thalia. I rolled my eyes again.

"Nico should have known what he was getting into." Percy smirked.

"Yeah, but since when has Nico been smart?" I snickered and laced my fingers through his.

"Nobody is as smart as you wise girl." He smiled.

"And nobody is as dumb as you seaweed brain." I smiled back and kissed him. It was a quick kiss, but it still held a lot of emotion either way. He pouted when I pulled back.

"Oh get over it Percy." I laughed.

"Whatever wise girl." He rolled his eyes.

"Out of all the nicknames in the world _that's _what you pick?" I asked. Even though- which I will never admit- I kind of liked it. The name stuck like glue. Just like how Percy's nickname stuck. But, I will never tell him that.

"HEY, lovebirds! Give the seat to someone else huh?" I heard someone call. _Oh great. _I looked up. Of course, Roy was there with his "friends" right beside him. I rolled my eyes.

"C'mon Percy, lets go find Thalia and Nico before they get into trouble." I said and pulled Percy up. We walked away from Roy and searched through crowds trying to find them. When we did find them, we found them at an ice cream stand. _What the hell? _

"What are you guys doing? I thought Thalia was busy killing you." I asked.

"Nah." Nico shook his head.

"I guess Thalia didn't want to kill the only boyfriend she could ever get." Percy shrugged.

"Thanks." Thalia said sarcastically.

"Guys, we should leave. Roy is here with his "friends". " I rolled my eyes. Percy nodded.

"Alright fine. Even though we went on two rides." Thalia scowled.

"Ha, you said yourself you would throw up if you went on another ride." I raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah but I wasn't serious." She whined.

"Well too bad." I smiled.

I guess it wasn't too bad. I guess I really could have some fun without something else interfering. I guess I could have friends to support me. I guess I could maybe live without family. I guess…

I guess I'm starting to see why.

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**Thank you for reading this chapter and story! You guys are amazing, thank you so much! I want at least 15 reviews PLEASE for this chapter, i know you guys can do it. PLEASE remember to tell other people about this story. REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW. Theres no such thing as perfect, everybody makes mistakes, and theres always room for improvement. THANKS! PEACE OUT**

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	16. Chapter 16

**Oh. My. God. I am so sorry I didn't update in awhile but I just took my science test today. GUESS WHAT? I ACED IT! 93% :D THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT YOU GUYS ARE AMAZIN! :) The stress is off, and I can write! THANK YOU FOR WAITING! Sorry if this chapter seems rushed or sucks because I wanted to get it out for you guys before it turns to a week since i last updated! THANK YOU FOR READING THIS STORY!**

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Annabeth PoV

When we got back to Percy's house, we all crowded around in his living room.

"Well what now?" Thalia asked as she plopped herself down on the nearest chair like she owned it. (Maybe she did :O)

"What about a movie?" Nico suggested. Percy shrugged.

"I don't have any movies. Do any of you guys have any?" Percy asked. I shook my head. _Yeah, my mom would totally go buy some movies._

"Nope." Nico said.

"Yeah." Thalia muttered. Percy and Nico glanced at her quickly but then looked away. Nico put a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to get a movie." Nico told her. I frowned. What's wrong with that? Was it some of the movies she owned? Thalia pursed her lips and looked away from all of us. She fiddled with her hands and took a breath.

"I don't know she might not be home." She said and then turned back to us. I gave a look of confusion. Who was not going to be home?

"You don't have to." Percy said. "We can just do something else, we don't need a movie."

"I won't get caught. She's usually out." She tried to convince us and stood up.

"Thalia…"Nico tried. She just shook him off and made her way to the door.

"I'll be fine, my dad is probably home. He knows how to control her." She said with a shaky smile and left.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Her mom is a drinker and she abuses her." Percy explained. My throat suddenly felt dry. _That _sounded familiar. Way too familiar. I pursed my lips and sat down on the couch armchair. The only difference was that _she _had a father. I didn't. I noticed how everyone here had a tragedy. Everybody has something bad happen to them. I wasn't alone. Percy must have just noticed what he said and put a hand on my thigh.

"Hey its alright." He said consolingly. Nico looked in between us like he was confused. Just how I was a few moments ago.

"Wait what?" he said. I bent my head and sighed.

"Nothing." I replied. I couldn't tell anyone else yet. It was still just too much to handle. They were eventually going to find out anyway when Violet starts blabbing. She wouldn't even hesitate in telling the whole school. That just shows how bitchy she could be. She just wants the attention, and she acts like an angel. But really, deep inside she's a demon that cannot be killed. I must have been stuck in my thoughts, because Percy had to shake me.

"Uh what?" I said startled. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Such a wise girl." Percy shook his head. I laughed and pushed him away.

"Aw you guys have nicknames for each other." Nico teased.

"Ha ha." I said sarcastically. "That is so hilarious."

"I know right? I am so funny." Nico stuck his tongue out.

"So mature." I scoffed.

"Don't judge." He said. I was about to say something back when his cell phone rang. He answered it swiftly while Percy and me waited for the call to be over. He hung up and pocketed the phone.

"Thalia said she's on her way." Nico informed us. I let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Well that's good." I said honestly. Percy nodded in agreement. Suddenly the doorbell rang and Nico jumped from his seat eagerly. _Already? _He opened the door and Thalia rushed inside and slammed the door behind her. Her hair was wild and she was breathing heavily like she just ran a marathon. (Did she? :O) She was holding a movie in her hand but she tossed it on the floor like it didn't matter even though she risked her life- probably- to get it.

"Nico I saw your dad." She said. We all jumped up and stared at her.

"_What?_" Nico said alarmed. We immediately grabbed our stuff and raced out the door. Bianca's life was in danger again, and it was up to us to save her.

When we got to Nico's place, we instantly stormed inside. I also noticed the shiny black car in the driveway before we entered.

We found them in the living room.

Bianca was standing up behind the couch while a girl- no doubt it was Zoe- was standing in front of her with her arms stretched out to try and protect her. I realized there was a man in the kitchen with his arms crossed. He had black hair that way neatly cut, and he wore a pinstriped suit like he meant business. He was probably Nico's dad. Scratch that, he _was _Nico's dad. I could tell.

"Ah Nico, your home!" he said coldly. Nico froze in place and stared at him.

"What are you doing here?" Nico asked.

"Well, I pay for this home. It's only right I'm allowed to come in every once in awhile to see my…children." He said.

"Who are you?" Bianca wondered. Her dad gave her a freezing smile.

"I am your father." He informed her. "I see you have amnesia." He said like it was nothing and started walking to her. Zoe's eyes flashed with anger and stepped in front of him to stop him, which was brave because he was pretty damn intimidating.

"Don't. Touch. Her." She said angrily. Nico's dad raised an eyebrow.

"What can you do to stop me?" he asked. _Oh no, I sense trouble. _I rushed forward in front of Zoe and crossed my arms.

"You are not hurting anyone anymore. Mentally or physically" I stated and held my stare with him. Percy and Thalia made a wall around Bianca with their arms, but Nico stayed where he was.

"What are you doing here?" Nico repeated.

"I've come for my daughter." He said and started forward but I moved so he couldn't.

"You're not taking her. You are not responsible to raise a child or even a teenager." Nico commanded. His father turned to him and pursed his lips.

"Why would you care? You didn't even back her up while she was defending _you._" He said. Nico's eyes flared with rage. I could tell his dad just went over the line.

"_Why would I care? _She's the person that I would risk my life for. She's the person I would die for. She's the person I would make sure she was okay before me." Nico said and took a step forward. "And you can take your millions of dollars and you can shove it up your ass because I give a damn. I care more than you ever will. You don't care that my mom died. You don't care about how much Bianca and me suffer each day." Nico told him. His father narrowed his eyes. He advanced on Nico and his hands on the sides of Nico's head like he was going to snap it. I widened my eyes. _OH HELL NO! _Right away I flew forward- without thinking, even though that's surprising- and pushed his father back. Nobody, and I mean nobody, was going to hurt. My. Friends. Nobody.

"Get out." I commanded. I must have shaken him up pretty bad because he ran out the door. I took an unsteady breath and closed my eyes. Nobody spoke for a while.

"Annabeth I think you saved my life." Nico quivered. I opened my eyes and Percy took my hand. Bianca stepped in front of me and hugged me.

"I don't know you that well, but thank you so much." She whispered and then pulled away. She had tears in her eyes but she was smiling like she was grateful. She probably was. Thalia also hugged me but she didn't say anything. I understood though. I knew what it was like when you just couldn't speak. She stood back and took Nico's hand.

"Thanks." Zoe smiled. "Your really brave Anniebell." She said genuinely. Usually I would have gotten mad for somebody not saying my name correctly, but she hardly knew me. I didn't have the heart to ruin the moment and tell her what my actual name was. Percy kissed my cheek lightly and squeezed my hand. I smiled.

I saved someone's life.

But can somebody save mine?

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**Thank you for reading this chapter! Please review, there is no such thing as perfect, everybody makes mistakes (i make a lot!) and theres always room for improvement. ALWAYS! Thanks again. THank you for support. REVIEW. YOU GUYS ARE SO AMAZING! YOU REALLY MAKE MY DAY! THANKS! (FOR LIKE THE 100TH TIME!) peace out.**

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	17. Chapter 17

**Oh my god I am a horrible person. I haven't updated in like 3 months. This is my lame excuse- my laptop was taking away until the school year came around and the registration is in 2 weeks. Now I just got it back. I do have a computer, but I couldn't work on it because 1, my saves were on a different computer and 2, my internet was disabled because I had a virus and me and my family are trying to fix it. But my dad is super duper lazy and never fixes it because I don't know a clue how to save stuff so that we can reload the operating system or something like that. Okay I am totally rambling and I know a billion people won't even read this so I am so super super sorry super super super super sorry it is 99.99999% my falt. the 0.00001% belongs to the virus. Please please please review, I love you all! Once again SO SO SO SORRY! This chapter came out rushed so it will totally be horrible and I haven't written in like 1,000 years. Thank you for reading 3**

**Disclaimer: I keep forgetting to do these lol but the characters and everything all belong to Rick Riordan! GO PERCY! WOOOO!**

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Annabeth PoV

After we all said our goodbyes and Nico thanked me for like the millionth time, I went home. I needed sleep. _Really badly. _I almost fell over when Percy was walking home with me. I was lucky he was there or else I would have fell down flat on the cement and that would definitely _not _be good. _At all. _

"You must be really tired." He muttered in my ear. I yawned and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Takes a lot of energy to save someone." I mumbled back and closed my eyes.

"You were really brave, you could have died." He told me. I nodded even though I was already almost asleep. He finally sighed and I felt myself being lifted up by warm hands. I managed to open my eyes slightly and realized that Percy was carrying me bridal style. I smiled to myself and snuggled in closer to his chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck for extra support. I didn't even have to say thanks I knew he understood. He _always _understood. It's like we were the same person, but not really. Actually, I can't really explain it. I didn't even care if people would look at us weirdly.

I must have fell asleep on the way home, because when I woke up I was in my bed safe and sound. Percy wasn't here so he must have left. I yawned and blinked a couple of times. I pulled back the thin blanket and got up. I went through the hall and into my living room to find Percy, Thalia, Nico, and Bianca on my couch watching T.V.

"What the hell?" I said. They all turned at me in unison- which was kind of creepy- and said "what". I rolled my eyes. "Did you all practice that or something?" I scoffed.

"Maybe." Thalia smirked. That meant yes.

"Whatever. But seriously, what are you all doing here?" I asked. Percy sighed.

"My parents are home being boring, Thalia can't go home because her mom's there, and Nico and Bianca are afraid of staying in their own house." Percy smirked.

"So you decided to come trash mine?" I asked and motioned to all the chip wrappers (which I didn't notice before) on the ground. Man some people can be pigs. I am so not cleaning that up.

"Yup." Nico nodded.

"Fine, well I'm going to make myself breakfast. I would say make yourselves at home but it looks like you already did that." I scoffed and made my way into my kitchen. I took out a bowl and poured myself the last of my cereal. I poured milk in and mixed it together. I sighed and pulled out a spoon. I started eating and then made my way back out to the living room. "Well what now?" I said with a mouthful of cereal.

"I don't know." Nico shrugged.

"How did you understand that?" Thalia demanded. Nico rolled his eyes.

"We should go sneak into an indoor pool." Percy suggested. I laughed.

"Of course you would say that seaweed brain. And it's like 7 in the morning." I protested.

"It's actually 11:31." said Bianca.

"Oh…" I trailed off. "I knew that."

"We should see a movie at a movie theater!" Thalia proposed.

"We could see _Tiger Eyes_." Nico suggested.

"What's it about?" I asked.

"A girl trying to live a life when her father is dead while her mother is in kind of an aftershock." Nico explained. My lips felt dry and the room suddenly went silent. _Wow, coincidence? _I can't say anything, but I _have _too. But I also can't, but I can. If that even makes any sense. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. No I can't. But I have too… but ARGH!

"Annabeth are you okay?" Thalia asked. I looked at her.

"Yeah why?" I frowned.

"You frowned, then paled, and then went blank like nothing happened." She explained. I could see Percy in the corner of my eye holding his breath as if waiting if I was going to tell them or not. I pursed my lips.

"It's nothing…" I said. I cleared my throat awkwardly. "School starts again tomorrow I think we should like do something really fun." I suggested and shoved another spoonful of frosted flakes in my mouth.

"Like what?" Bianca asked.

"We could um…" Nico said blankly.

"We can play board games and eat popcorn." Thalia said. I considered it, and then nodded my head.

"Okay hold on I need to check my basement." I said and set my bowl down. I went into the hallway and pulled the rug back and opened the trapdoor making a ladder come down. I crawled down it and looked around for the light switch. I finally found it and turned it on. Man, I haven't been here in awhile. There were cobwebs almost _everywhere _which freaking scared the freaking crap out of me because I FREAKING HATE SPIDERS SO FREAKING MUCH!I finally found the board games on the shelf. I took them off and dusted them then crawled back up the ladder quickly.

I plopped the stuff on the table and looked at them.

"Really? Monopoly, Sorry, and Chutes and Ladders?" Percy smirked.

"Hey! Don't judge my dad and me used to-" I started and then stopped suddenly. The room went quiet.

"What do you mean by _used _to?" Bianca asked. Everyone looked at me for an answer except Percy who looked down at his shoes instead.

"Um…" I said and then scratched my head awkwardly.

"Annabeth why are you acting so weird?" Thalia demanded.

"Yeah you can tell us, we tell you all of our problems." Nico agreed.

"What do you mean acting weird? I haven't been acting weird!" I said. But that was _totally _a big fat lie and I know that they knew it too.

"That is so totally a lie!" Thalia accused.

"Okay fine, it is a lie." I admitted.

"Annabeth, I don't know you very much but what I do notice about you is that you care about people. You saved my brother, you drove me to the hospital, and you are nice to all of us. We trust you now, and we want you to see that you can trust us too." Bianca stated. We all stared at her. "What? It's true." She reasoned. I sighed and sat down on my couch armchair. I guess I did owe them an explanation. It was already super hard hiding it anyway and plus they are going to find out eventually because Violet would blab about it.

"Fine I'll tell you. My dad died from a heart attack a couple weeks ago and we moved here to get away from where we originally lived which was California. I guess after my dad died my mom changed. She became a drinker, and a couple of days ago she left me a note saying she wasn't going to come back. I guess everything is still new in my mind and… well it's hard to forget. I keep remembering things we used to do…" I said softly. I didn't meet their eyes.

"Holy hell Annabeth you've kept this around and you didn't even tell _anyone?_" Thalia said. Once again, how can holy be hell they are opposite… you know what? Never mind.

"Yeah I mean we all have problems we know how to help." Nico nodded. I cleared my throat.

"Well actually I told _someone_." I admitted. Thalia, Nico, and Bianca immediately turned to Percy.

"Is it that obvious?" Percy wondered. I managed a weak smile.

"But Violet overheard us talking." I said miserably and rubbed my arm nervously.

"WHAT? Oh man that's really, _really _bad." Thalia said wide-eyed.

"Thanks for the reassurance." I groaned.

"Who's Violet?" Bianca asked.

"She's this bitch at school." I sighed and kicked the coffee table. "Well I guess game day is ruined."

"Wait… no. She's going to tell everyone anyway right? So when we're at school just act like you don't even care. Everyone would get tired of it eventually, and they'll all forget about it." Nico said.

"Wow that's actually a good idea, I didn't know you even _had _any good ideas." Percy grinned.

"It's not that easy acting like you don't care though." I protested.

"Oh come on Annie, I'm pretty sure if you can hide a secret from us for a week you _should _be able to act like you don't care." Thalia smirked.

"Yeah and maybe you should even make _her _look bad. Like show up to school with make-up on and all that shit so you can throw her down the social ladder." Bianca grinned.

"Oh goodie I'm getting a make-over!" I said sarcastically but I knew there was no arguing. If this is what I had to do to make Violet look bad I'll do it. Hell I'd even sing soprano at the top of my lungs in the school locker room or eat the school's meatloaf! And trust me, the school's meatloaf is _horrible. _It reeks and tastes like… you know I can't even describe how bad it tastes.

"Don't be a baby Annie." Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Don't call me Annie!" I glared.

"I can and I will." She stuck her tongue at me.

"So mature Thalia, and you call _me _the baby." I scoffed. And we all laughed.

(Line BREAK!)

"Okay so Annabeth you have to promise you won't go all psycho crazy on us if we do something you don't like." Bianca smirked. We were all inside my room to do the make-over and I just couldn't wait! (Sarcasmmmmm)

"Fine. I promise." I rolled my eyes. Thalia circled around me and nodded. I made sure the door was locked; I didn't want any of the guys peeking.

"Mkay sit on your bed Annie." Thalia ordered. I reluctantly did.

"Hurry up! I'm tired it's like 6:00 in the _morning _and it's a school day." I pouted. Bianca smiled and took out a hair straighter out of the bag she brought from Zoe's house. I widened my eyes. "No, no, no, no, no. I like my curls!" I protested, but she plugged it in anyway. She started straightening my hair while Thalia looked through my wardrobe.

"Percy is _so _going to start drooling at the sight of you." Thalia smirked. She pulled out a pink tank top and then a white shoulder shirt that was a little transparent. Then she took out black jeans shorts and tossed them all on the bed. I groaned as she pulled out the makeup. She put black eyeliner, mascara, and light pink eye shadow on my eyes. She even put blush on my cheeks. Like _really? _

"Now try the clothes on." Bianca said excitedly. I glared at them but did it anyway. Then Thalia gave me sunglasses with a white outline. I put them on top of my head.

"Okay now you get to look in the mirror!" Thalia grinned. They both pulled me to the bathroom and I admit it… I looked pretty pro.

"Man, we did a great job." Bianca grinned and high-fived Thalia.

"No, it's just my good looks that did everything." I smirked.

"Oh puh-leaze, be real." Thalia said but she was smiling the whole entire time.

"Time to show Percy." Bianca sang.

"This is going to be fun." I grinned.

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**Thank you all so much for reading I am so sorry I haven't updated. Love you all! Please review there is always room for improvement and there is no such thing as perfect! Everybody makes mistakes! And usually I make a lot because my grammar sucks so much! Anyway Thank you so so so much for reading this and for the millionth time I am so super duper sorry. :) Hugs to you all!**

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	18. Chapter 18

**Omg! Thank you all for reviewing/following/favoriting (is that a word?) and all that jazz. I am so excited! :D Sorry this chapter is so short, but I swear next chapter I will try to make it more than 3,500 words! Key word: TRY! Not promising anything cause usually when I promise something I end up breaking it. Thank you all for reading my story, I'm still a supreme newbie so thank you thank you thank you! PLEASE I really want 100 reviews (in all, so just need 7 reviews) on this chapter that would be so fabulous! Thank you all again and I love you!**

**Disclaimer: All these characters and stuffyz do not belong to me, they belong to Rick Riordan! GO PERCY!**

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Annabeth PoV

"Okay, lets go Annie! The boys are waiting in the living room." Thalia told me. I smirked. I adjusted my glasses and put them over my eyes. I couldn't wait to see their reactions. I opened the door and made my way to the living room. Percy and Nico were both chilling on the couch and turned to me once I entered. Percy's jaw dropped.

"Damnnn." Nico raised his eyebrows. I grinned and raised the glasses.

"Problem?" I asked. Percy was still staring at me, while Thalia and Bianca laughed from beside me.

"I think he's broken." Bianca whispered to me. I snickered and went over to him. I pressed my hand underneath his jaw and shut it for him.

"Fixed." I smirked and sat down.

"This is real right? Not a dream." Percy said. I grinned.

"Yeah this is real Seaweed brain." I rolled my eyes.

"Well I'll see you guys later, I gotta take Bianca to Zoe's." Nico sighed and got up.

"Bye." We all waved and Thalia gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Awwwwww." I cooed. Thalia rolled her eyes but she was blushing anyway. As soon as Nico and Bianca left, Thalia glanced at the two of us and said she had to leave too, but I could tell she just wanted to leave us alone. "So? What do you think?" I asked and poked him in the chest.

"I think you're the sexiest person alive." He grinned and started playing with my hair. I smiled.

"I'm still worried though, like what if I mess up or something?" I bit my lip.

"Annie you think too much." Percy chuckled. "You're not going to mess up. Plus Thalia, Nico and I are all here for you."

"Yeah I know." I sighed. But what if I _did _mess up? What if I attacked Violet, or someone else? No, I couldn't think about that. I just had to keep my cool, and make sure I stay that way. Totally nothing to worry about right?

(Line Break WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE)

"You ready Annie?" Thalia asked as we all stood at the entrance. I took a deep breath. My hearts were beating like 100 times a second right now. I was so nervous I didn't even care that she just called me Annie. I made sure Percy and my hands were locked together. I blew out air and nodded. Thalia opened the door, and Percy and me started making our way down the hall to our lockers. I didn't look at anyone; I just looked straight ahead like a badass. I could hear whispers fill the hall but I ignored them. Maybe this wouldn't be too hard; I've been ignoring things all my life.

When we reached our lockers I started getting my books out and put them in my shoulder bag. Thalia and Nico came over to us.

"That was great!" Thalia grinned. Nico nodded in agreement.

"Violet's coming." Percy whispered to us. I leaned against my locker and put a smirk on my face. Violet tossed her hair and she looked at me evilly.

"Hey Annabeth." She sniggered.

"Hey Violet." I said coolly. I could tell people were listening into our conversation. I mean, how can you not when your voice bounces off the walls and echoes?

"So, I heard some news about you the other day." She continued. I acted bored and started studying my nails, but really I was listening to what she was saying. "I heard your dad's dead, is that true?" She asked innocently. I looked at her calmly.

"Yeah, why?" I said nonchalantly. People were starting whispering around us. Inside there was a fire growing inside of me and I had to fight hard to dial it down.

"I also heard your mom _left _you. That's true too right?" she smirked.

"Yup." I said relaxingly. More whisperes erupted from the people around us. What's the point in whispering if we all know what they're all talking about? "Is that it?" I sighed and looked at her. She stared at me like _why aren't you giving a reaction? _

"I bet your dad died to get away from you and your mom." She concluded. Oh man, that was hard to take in. A hot spike of anger expanded inside. My hands were clenched from behind my back.

"Ok." I shrugged. She narrowed her eyes at me. "Look I'd love to chat, but I want to talk to my actual _friends _now sweetie, so shoo." I ordered. She was so shocked she took two steps backward and then retreated back to her "friends". I let out the air I was holding in and then took my hands out from behind my back.

"Wow." Nico said impressed.

"That was so badass." Thalia agreed.

"Yeah, I would have flipped out if she said all those things to me." Percy admitted. I smiled and the anger faded away. I knew it wasn't true, so what was the point of being so obsessed about it? But I couldn't help it. Was it the reason he died? He had a heart attack right after I told him to take me to his work… Maybe he was so annoyed with me. Wait what the hell am I talking about? I'm letting Violet get to my head. I shouldn't be doing that. The whole point was to stay calm, cool, and collected.

"I almost flipped out." I confessed.

"Yeah but you didn't, which is great!" Thalia told me. I nodded.

"But, this is so going to be a _long _day." I said.

(LINE BREAK WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE)

When the day was over, I was so exhausted. The whole entire day I couldn't take my anger out on anything or anyone. I just had to sit through people asking me personal questions and act like I don't even care. IT WAS STUPID! I would not have made it without my three friends. I would have literally flipped out at the first world Violet said.

"You did a good job Annie." Thalia smirked as we all began to walk to Percy's house. Oh, and not to mention I had to sit through people calling me ANNIE! I hated that name so much. It was Annie this and Annie that. Can people really not remember my name that easily? My parents named me Annabeth they should call me Annabeth _not _and I mean definitely _not _Annie.

"I can finally take all this shitty make-up off." I said in relief.

"Hey! Bianca and me did a good job." She huffed.

"I'm talking about the product not _who _put it on dummy." I rolled my eyes. "So I'm done right? No more not caring?" I asked.

"No you have to do it every time she asks until she stops." Nico shook his head.

"What? That's so hard though!" I protested.

"Would you rather her bring it up for your entire life?" Percy wondered. I sighed.

"I hate it when you're right." I mumbled. Thalia laughed.

"Everyone will get over it I promise Annie!" she patted my back.

"Stop calling me Annie!" I scowled.

"Annie, gotta stay calm remember?" Percy reminded me.

"Ugh my boyfriend is calling me that too, just fabulous." I said sarcastically. He kissed my cheek and I blushed.

"Please no PDA while we are around." Nico rolled his eyes. I stuck my tongue at him. I looked ahead to see how far we were until Percy's house and then widened my eyes. No, it can't be. IT IS! I stopped in my tracks.

"Annabeth? What's wrong?" Thalia said concerned. Everyone else looked at me for an answer. I know I was supposed to stay calm but _this?_ How am I _not _supposed to freak out? My throat got dry and I couldn't speak. Instead, I just pointed to my mom's car in my driveway.

My mom was back.

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**Thank you all for reading, like I said this chapter was super super short. I will try to do 3,500 words in the next chapter. Thanks for your support this is all my motivation so please! I really want 100 reviews (like not 100 people reviewing but in all so I just need 7 reviews JUST to clarify)Theres always room for improvement, no such thing as perfect, and EVERYBODY makes mistakes especially ME! Thanks again everyone! Love ya! Can't wait to write the next chapta gunna be exciting! :3**

**-MM**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay I might have lied last chapter, I couldn't do 3,500 words BUT I did more than I would have so, at least I tried right? Lol anyway THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS AND FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS! It really makes my day and I am so sad because there is only ONE more chapter until this story's over (not counting this one) and IT IS HORRIBLE! But I am planning on making NEW stories and... well I hope you read them! i LOVE YOU ALL thank you so much for reading this I'm so happy, and I can't believe it! I always wanted to write but I am a shy little girl so I never wanted to show anyone and once I did, IT WAS GREAT! So the next chapter will most likely be short just because it's the end. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THE 100 REVIEWS! I know I beg so much but thankx! :) **

**Disclaimer: I am definitely not Rick Riordan. First of all I am a girl. All characters belong to him! GO PERCY!**

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Annabeth PoV

"She's back." I gulped. Then I began running down the street even though I was so tired.

"Annabeth wait!" Thalia called out and I could hear them running after me. She's back. She's _back. _I couldn't determine if this was a good thing or bad thing. She made my life living _hell _but she was my own mom. I was glad she was safe and everything but what was she doing back here? What if something was wrong? What if she came back to sell the house or something? I would be homeless and that would just be so embarrassing. So, _what the hell is she doing back here? _

I didn't stop until I was on my front steps. I stared at the door. I was afraid of what was inside it. What if there were beer bottles all over the place? What if she was freaking _dead? _I don't even know. I was freaking afraid. I needed to know, but I didn't' want to know.

I heard them behind me, and could tell they were watching me. I bit my lip and looked back at them. My eyes must have been full with fear. Scratch that. WERE not must.

"Should I?" I asked them. They all slowly nodded. I pursed my lips. I've never been so scared. I held my breath and reached for the door. And I wasn't expecting what I found inside.

(Do you like CLIFFY LINEBREAKS? I SURE DO! LoL!)

What I found when I entered was my mom sitting on the floor hugging herself and crying. No beer bottles anywhere, no smell of hard liquor, nothing. She was just sitting there like she felt so lost and helpless. I would know because that's basically my _life _now. I gaped at her then turned back to my friends.

"Hold on for a minute." I told them. They nodded understandingly and I closed the door behind me. My mom looked up at the sound of the door shutting. Her grey eyes were red, but mostly they were filled with despair. Her blond curls were tumbling down her back and they looked tangled. Another tear slid down her cheeks and dropped to the floor. She looked beyond repair.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry." She sobbed. I just stood there looking at her. I was still angry at what she did. She basically ruined my life and I'm just supposed to _forgive _her? She wasted my time, and she practically abused me and I'm just supposed to _forget _that? I took another look at my mom and grit my teeth. So may times I tried to tell her but she pulled away. This is her problem. She ripped all the pictures of my father, and burned all his designs. The designs I've waited all my life to see, and she _knew _that but she did it anyway. She was horrible, and I don't see why I have to be nice to her. I didn't care anymore.

"You ruined my life so much. How am I supposed to ignore everything you've done to me? I shouldn't have to put up with your crap! Everything was fine until my dad died and you started drinking! How many times have you told me not to drink? A billion! And you don't listen to your own advice." I shouted angrily. "The only reason I'm still here is because of my friends, and I wanted to try and change you. But then you had to go and leave. Do you know how irresponsible that is? Do you understand how _hard _it was for me? Do you?"

"Annabeth I'm really sorry. I truly am. I was selfish and I was idiotic. I felt alone and thought drinking could solve that but I got carried away. I don't even remember half the things that I did but I do know that I was greedy and I shouldn't have been. I was a horrible mother I know, but as soon as I left I thought _what am I doing? _I knew I had to come back. Even if your father was dead you were still alive and that's all I needed to keep me going. I thought I needed more than that but I was wrong. Please Annabeth, I know this is a lot to take in and I have done a lot of bad things, but I want you to forgive me." She pleaded. I looked at her. I once looked like that. Desperate for comfort, and it was because of her. But she was my mother. All mother deserve her daughter's forgiveness. So what if we weren't that typical mother/daughter you see usually at the teen's age? I should be happy I have a mother who would be willing to give up drinking, get back on her own two feet just for me. That's all I wanted and now she wants to do it.

"Okay." I managed a weak smile and rushed forward to hug her. She hugged me back and held me tight like she never wanted to leave. When our tears fell, it wasn't of sadness. It was from joy and happiness and those are the best tears anyone can have.

(LINE BREAK O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0o0o0o0o0o0o0O)

"Mom, I want you to meet my friends." I told her as we both stood up. "They helped me a lot." I added while I opened the front door. They were all still waiting there and looked at me expectantly. I waved for them to come inside and they did cautiously. I shut the door behind them. "Okay, this is Nico. He has a sister named Bianca. This is Thalia, she is _currently _dating Nico." I smiled as they both blushed. And then I looked at Percy. He was the person that _really _kept me going when I was sad. He was the person that helped me the most. I mean sure Thalia, Nico, and Bianca were all good friends but… well Percy was just a lot different. "And this is Percy my…" I started and then glanced cautiously at my mom. Should I say? Would she approve? She _better _approve or I'd kick her ass down the street until she reached the ocean. "My boyfriend." I finished. She raised her eyebrow but didn't say anything. Thank god!

"Well it's nice to meet you all." My mom smiled. I smiled in relief. Good. "Annie can you follow me for a second?" she asked. _Uh oh, maybe not good._

"Yeah. Hold on guys." I told my friends. They all nodded as I followed my mom down the hall and into my dad's office. She always said I couldn't go in here. Inside, there was plush soft carpet. The desk was made of mahogany and was shiny like it was just polished. Dust was gathered on the bookshelves and probably inside the books as well. The walls were painted bright pale yellow, and the sunlight was peeking through the windows which were partially covered by red curtains. "Is this about Percy and me? Because he makes me happy and without him I wouldn't have made it this far." I said immediately as she shut the door. She laughed.

"No, I'm fine with you two, it looks like you've been through a lot together and if you're happy, it makes me happy. That's not why I brought you here." She smiled. "It's just that when your father died, you still never really got to see his designs." She explained. My mouth suddenly felt dry. I cleared my throat. _How to break the news? She must have forgotten._

"Um you burned his designs." I said quietly. She stared at me.

"What?" she asked.

"Yeah one day while you were drunk um… you took his designs and burned them in the yard." I told her. Then, something I didn't expect happened. She slumped over. I caught her before she fell. "Oh no." I said. Repeating history again. She's having a heart attack. This can't be happening. Not me, not now. "HELP!" I screamed as loud as I could. I heard the sound of footsteps across the wooden floor and then them come to a halt.

"Oh my god what happened?" Thalia asked.

"Ambulance." I said. Percy understood and pulled out his phone. "Thalia, Nico help me get her out of the house." I ordered. Tears were streaming down my face. Please god don't let her die. Please, _please. _Thalia took my mom's arm and slung it over her shoulder while Nico did the same with his other arm. _No time for thinking Annabeth, just get her to the hospital safely. _

We carried her out of the house while waiting for the ambulance to come. _Hurry up! _I tapped my foot nervously. I wiped my tears away but more kept coming. Nobody said anything. I heard the sound of sirens and the ambulance pulled around the corner.

"Meet me there, I'm going to ride in the ambulance." I told them shakily. They all nodded as the paramedics or whatever ran out of the car and helped carry my mom to the back of the ambulance then put her on the stretcher inside.

"You the daughter?" a paramedic asked. I nodded- mostly because if I talked I would start crying. He helped me into the back of the ambulance while they shut the doors and started driving away. The whole entire time I was holding her hand. It reminded me of all the times she was drunk and I tried to warm her hands up. Except today, she had a heart attack instead. It seemed too horrible. Every time something good happens it comes back to bite me. If she died, I would have been left alone. That's not what I was worried about. I was worried that she would die. More tears streamed down my face but I wasn't ashamed.

"Don't die, we're almost there. Almost there mom. Please, please. You can do it." I sobbed. The car stopped and the paramedics hustled out and opened the back door again. They took her out and I followed them. I followed them all the way to the emergency room. They let me stay, unlike last time. I watched them. I watched as they tried to keep her alive. She wasn't dead yet, which was a good sign but I couldn't help feeling so broken. Why does this always happen to me? My life was already horrible, why should it be messed with more? I was a good person inside I didn't deserve this. I shouldn't have told her about the designs. I should have said I didn't need them. I'm so stupid, so, so, so stupid. It hurt, it hurt so much. It hurt more than when my dad left because this was my only parent left. I looked away from all the paramedics and the doctors. What if they failed like they did to my father? Or what if they did something wrong and my mom was brain damaged for the rest of her life? I don't know if I will be able to handle it. I don't know if my friends could save me this time. I might actually break.

A woman came inside the room and looked at me.

"Are you the daughter?" she asked. Thats all I was. _The daughter. _ I nodded and wiped my tears with my sleeve. She handed me a clipboard. "Fill that out as best at you can." She said nicely like she understood what I was going through. Half of me wanted her to treat me like other people, but the other half appreciated the gesture.

I couldn't concentrate on filling out the clipboard; I was concentrating on making sure I didn't drop my tears on it, which was pretty hard. I did try my best to fill it out though. If it helped my mother I sure as hell was going to do it.

SAD LINE BREAK ;{

I don't know how long I stayed there, but I didn't care. I would stay here for three days straight if I had too.

I hadn't been paying attention to what the doctors were saying, but I did see the line on the computer screen which it indicted if she was alive or not.

/\ /\ /\/ \/ \_/ \_/\/\_/\/ \ (lol i tried so hard to draw it 3: it didn't work very well)

So far, so good. Maybe my mom did have a heart attack but she's a fighter. She knows I'm here for her, and she knows she can make it through. She will make it out alive.

I hugged my knees on the chair inside and pursed my lips. I wish Percy were here. He always knew how to comfort me, but this was family only and I didn't want to leave my mom here. I wanted to be with her the whole entire time just like she was with me when we were waiting on the news of my dad. I knew he would understand, he always did. I wondered if they were waiting out there for me, or if they left.

It must have been another twenty minutes before she woke up. She looked around the room like _what am I doing in here? _And then she saw me and seemed to register where she was. I smiled weakly at her and she smiled back. She was alive, and she was fine. She was just unconscious for a little while. The paramedics started talking to her but I didn't pay any attention. All I cared about is that my mother, was fine. Everything was going to be fine. Everything would be normal.

And for like the first time ever, I was happy in a hospital.

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**Thank you all for reading! (I kinda hated that ending) Second to last chapter, I really really really am sad. Please give me reviews, EVERYBODY MAKES MISTAKES, NOBODY IS PERFECT, AND THERE IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT! Thanks all for your support once again LOVE YOU ALL! Can't wait to upload last chapter. ITS BITTERSWEET MY FRIENDS! Bittasweet!**

**(::) 3**

**-MM**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you all for reviewing last chapter. This story is over, and I'm sad and glad. Just like I said before, its bittersweet. I want to thank you all for the support you have given, it really inspired me to write more and more. My family didn't believe in me, but it just made me want to prove them wrong. My friends also gave me support so I want to thank all of them too! Thank you all for viewing, giving feedback, following, and your favorites. My heart just jumps when I get a message on my email. So thank you all so much. I love ya all so much!**

**Disclaimer: Rick owns all the rights to his characters and stuffyz! Go PERCABETH! (::)**

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Annabeth PoV

My mom told me to go home and get some sleep because she had to stay overnight. So here I am, walking home in the rain smiling to myself. I didn't care that my friends had to go home, they were probably tired and I wouldn't hold that against them. It didn't really matter. Plus I love the rain anyway, and it hid my tears of joy.

(Line Break!)

On Tuesday, I stayed home. Basically, the whole entire time I blasted music and danced around the house. I'm not usually that type, but I was so happy today. It was like I was on cloud nine. I was even happier when my mom walked through the door. I smiled and immediately ran to her and hugged her. She laughed.

"Oh Annie I missed you." She told me. I released her and put my hands on my hips dramatically.

"My name is Annabeth!" I rolled my eyes. She smiled. "So what did the doctors say?"

"They said I have to wear this heart monitor thing on my wrist." She sighed. I nodded.

"I'm glad you didn't die." I admitted. She brushed some of my hair behind my ear.

"Me too, I didn't want to leave you alone." She confessed. "So, we going to bake cookies or what?" she asked. I grinned.

"You bet."

(Line Break!)

On Wednesday, I stayed home again. I needed bonding time with my mom. I don't care what everyone else thinks it's my life. Plus, it doesn't take me that long to catch up with school.

Everything was going fine until I mentioned the dance that started at 7:00 today.

"Oh Annie you didn't tell me you had a dance!" my mom sighed and pulled me to her room.

"No I don't wanna dress up!" I whined. I regretted telling her already.

"Don't you trust me?" she smiled at me.

"Fine." I mumbled but I really, really didn't want to dress up. "Ground rules no skirts, no dresses." I told her. She nodded.

"Okay, I agree to those terms." She sighed. "But you're making this very difficult." She joked.

"I am very difficult." I agreed as she started searching through her closet. I sat on her bed and sighed. She finally tossed at me a black sparkly halter-top, and just regular old jeans. I made a face at the halter-top. "Really?" I said.

"Put it on or else I'll make you wear a dress." She ordered.

I put it on.

She smiled at me and then led me into the bathroom. She got out a brush and started brushing my hair.

"You're not going to straighten it are you?" I asked.

"No, just brushing. Your hair looks like a birds nest." She joked.

Once she was done (which felt like _hours_), she smiled at me. "You looked beautiful." She said honestly.

"Yeah but I don't _feel _beautiful." I sighed and stared at myself.

"You don't need to feel beautiful to be beautiful." She told me. I made a face.

"You do know the dance isn't for like two hours you know." I told her.

"Yes, but being prepared is also good." She explained to me. I didn't really have an argument against that, so I didn't say anything.

(Line BREAK!)

One hour and forty-five minutes later I was sitting in the front seat next to my mom. Honestly, I don't really like dances. I'd rather stay home with a book, or stay home to draw some more designs.

Right when I was about to get out of the car, my mom held my arm to stop me.

"I wanted to give you something. This was your father's most prized possession besides us." She smiled at the memory and took out a locket that was hidden carefully. I never even noticed it. She unlocked it and inside was a key. "This unlocks the safe under his desk in his office. It holds his best design ever, of a fresh new building for where he used to work. He would spend hours on it, and he never finished. I figured you could finish it. I'm positive that one is still there, and well I know you love designing just like him." She said. She closed the locket again, and took it off her neck. She placed it around mine and closed the clasp. "Its yours now." She whispered. I was so stunned I didn't know what to say. His _best design ever, _and it was _his _and now she's giving it to _me. _She trusts me with it. Maybe everything would be fine after all.

"Thank you." I smiled genuinely while my eyes got watery. She was a real mother. Forget the past, and live the present.

"I'll pick you up in two hours." She told me. I nodded and got out of the car. I wiped my eyes and waved goodbye. I looked up at the run down school, but it didn't look that run down today. There were streamers hanging from the top of the building, and balloons lined up on the entrance. When I entered the hallway, it looked same old except for the arrows pointing to the cafeteria. When I went inside, my breath was taken away. The tables were pushed into the walls, confetti littered the floors, balloons lines the walls, streamers hanged from the ceiling, and music was blaring from hanging speakers. Different colored bulbs replaced the regular bulbs in the lights so the room looked funky.

"Annie! Over here!" Thalia called. I looked to my right and Thalia, Nico, and Percy were standing over there. I grinned and walked over to them.

"So what happened?" Nico asked.

"Yeah, sorry we weren't there its just-" Percy tried to explain.

"Everything is fine. She's alive. It's going to be ok. She's not drinking anymore, and she's acting like a real mom." I said happily. They all smiled.

"That's great!" Thalia said genuinely. "That's not the only good news though." She said.

"My dad has been put in jail so he won't be bother Bianca and me anymore." Nico grinned.

"Wow that's awesome!" I beamed. Percy nodded.

"So everything turned out great." Percy said. We all agreed. "C'mon, lets dance." Percy smiled and pulled me away from them. Well we weren't technically dancing. He held one of my hands against his chest while I put my head against his shoulder and my other arm was around his neck.

"Well good news, Violet hasn't bothered us yet." I told him.

"Yup. You look beautiful today by the way." He added. I blushed.

"You don't look too bad yourself." I smiled.

Today was perfect, and I don't care if people say there's no such thing as perfect, it just was. It was magical, and enchanting. Everything is fine, and I can have my normal life with a normal boyfriend and with my normal friends just like before. Nothing should change just because my father died; I know that he would want me to keep living my life. I had a chance to make great things in my life; I shouldn't just give that up. Many people in the world would give anything to get a chance like that so I shouldn't waste it. Everyone has his or her share of bad things in this world, it's just that mine seemed worse then everyone else's but truthfully, it wasn't. Sure it was horrible, but I'm sure there are other people in the world who have it worse then me. People shouldn't give up, I learned that and now I want to show other people too. I realized it wasn't just Percy, Thalia, and Nico who showed me why; it was my mom, my dad, and even I. Sure people helped me along the way, but I believed in myself, and I thought I could finish what I started. I knew I should keep going, and I fought. I fought with my heart and soul, it just took me long to realize it, but now that I do, I can't stop thinking about it because I'm just so grateful that I've been given the strength to do this. I want to thank everyone who helped me, but sometimes you can only say things with actions. You know what they say: actions speak louder than words. And they do. My father used to say when one door closes, another one opens. That's true.

It just took me so long to find that door.

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**Woah, that last paragraph. O_o... Anyway thank you all for reviewing and following etc but it really makes a difference, I have one last wish that you give me one last review. I know I am so not the best writer in the world, but it just makes me so happy. Please, just one last review. Theres always room for improvement. Always. Especially with me, and I always make , look out for a new story I will be making soon, I will give you a hint- IT IS ABOUT PIPER! *gasp* So look out for that, and THANK YOU ALL AGAIN! LOVE YOU SO MUCH! i HOPE I INSPIRED SOME OF YOU TO WRITE! **

**-MM**


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